Owen Coyle may not have finished in the transfer window just yet.
The Scot succeeded Roberto Martinez as Wigan Athletic coach during the summer, when the FA Cup winning Spaniard left the relegated Latics for Everton. James McClean, who joined from Sunderland on Thursday, was the tenth new addition to the DW Stadium playing squad, yet they may be more arrivals before the window closes.
Coyle is happy with what he has to work with at the moment, and was naturally thrilled with the 4-0 opening day Championship win at Barnsley. But as he prepares his side to take on Manchester United in the FA Community Shield on Sunday afternoon, the former Bolton Wanderers boss has revealed he still has £1million to spend.
“I inherited a squad of 11 first-team players,” said Coyle, who led Burnley to the Premier League in 2009. “Of those, Arouna Kone had a clause in his contract and went to Everton and Mauro Boselli went to a club in Mexico. The attitude of the nine who were left to get the football club back to where everybody craves it to be has been unbelievable but from those two transfer fees we have tried to wheel and deal and bring in good players.
“That there is still £1million that has not been spent shows how hard we have worked to bring in Grant Holt (from Norwich City) at £1.5million, James Perch for £500,000 (from Newcastle United), Scott Carson (from Bursaspor, £700,000), James McClean at a bargain fee. We think we have got quality and players with a real purpose.”
As well as McClean, Holt, Perch and Carson, Wigan have signed Leon Barnett, Stephen Crainey, Marc-Antoine Fortune, Juan Carlos Garcia, Chris McCann and Thomas Rogne since the end of last season. Amongst those who have followed Kone and Boselli through the exit door are Antolin Alcarez, Franco di Santo, Maynor Figueroa and David Jones.
