{"id":580007,"date":"2021-01-22T08:23:09","date_gmt":"2021-01-22T13:23:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=580007"},"modified":"2021-01-22T08:23:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-22T13:23:09","slug":"wigan-athletic-set-to-sign-george-johnston","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/01\/22\/wigan-athletic-set-to-sign-george-johnston\/","title":{"rendered":"Wigan Athletic Set to Sign Feyenoord Centre-Back George Johnston"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wigan Athletic<\/a> are close to completing the loan signing of Feyenoord centre-back George Johnston,<\/a> according to Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports<\/a>. The Liverpool<\/a> academy graduate comes into a recently improved Wigan<\/a> side, who will be looking to avoid successive relegations.<\/p>\n

George Johnston Set to Sign for Wigan Athletic<\/h2>\n

A Beneficial Deal for Feyenoord, George Johnston and Wigan Athletic<\/h3>\n

Wigan Athletic, who have had a torrid time since news of their administration emerged, have not been able to attract the same calibre of players they were able to last season, meaning the signing of a young talented individual would fill fans with some sort of hope.<\/p>\n

For Johnston himself, it is a move back to the North-West of England having grown up in Manchester and coming through<\/a> Liverpool’s<\/a> academy system. But essentially, the move means more game time for the young defender, who can only benefit from such an experience.<\/p>\n

The increased game-time will also suit Feyenoord, who have not been able to promise Johnston many first-team minutes<\/a> this season. The move will continue the 22-year-old’s development and from a Feyenoord perspective, he will return a more mature and experienced individual.<\/p>\n

Straight Into a League One Relegation Battle<\/h3>\n

The Latics currently sit in 22nd place and two points off third-tier safety.<\/a> It is certainly a difficult situation for the young central defender to be thrown into, but the pressure of fighting for survival will be a huge learning curve.<\/p>\n

For Wigan, the acquisition of a highly-rated player like Johnston will only bolster their chances of survival and ensure they have a large enough squad to be able to adapt to the rigours of post-lockdown football and the subsequent compact fixture list.<\/p>\n

Johnston has also been capped eight times for Scotland’s U21 side.<\/a> And a move to play regular football at Wigan will certainly increase his chances to progress into his country’s senior setup.<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>