Five Preston North End men Ryan Lowe could swoop for after becoming Wigan Athletic boss

Ryan Lowe has been confirmed as the new head coach of Wigan Athletic.

The League One club announced the appointment of the 46-year-old on Wednesday, with Lowe back in management seven months on from his Deepdale departure. He takes over a club sitting 15th in the third tier with 11 matches left to play this season.

It will then be on to the summer - the first opportunity for Lowe to make his mark on the Latics squad and build for his first full season at the club. The Liverpudlian never returned for any of his former Plymouth Argyle players while at North End, but are there any PNE connections he could now lean on?

We take a look at five potential options, below...

Jack Whatmough

The defender’s season was all but ended back in February, when he suffered an injury blow in the FA Cup clash against Wycombe Wanderers. Lowe brought Whatmough to Preston in the summer of 2023 and he has made 42 appearances since - with 30 of those starts. The 28-year-old has put in some solid performances for PNE but struggled to nail down a regular place in the starting XI.

Whatmough attracted loan interest in the latest transfer window from a top half League One club and should that resurface in the summer, it may give North End a decision to make. The centre-back terminated his contract with Wigan before joining Preston - due to ‘repeated contractual breaches’ - but it wouldn’t be a surprise if Lowe targeted a reunion.

Kian Best

Best’s breakthrough season at North End - straight out of the academy - came under Lowe’s stewardship. He has drifted out of the first team picture at Preston, is currently out on loan at Bohemians and could well leave the club upon the expiry of his contract this summer. Given his exposure on the Championship stage and England Under-19s call up last campaign, Best will still have eyes on him. Wigan have plenty young players in and around their squad and the versatile defender could be identified as someone for the Latics to bring in, and develop over a number of years.

Layton Stewart

Another Lowe signing at Deepdale, Stewart made 16 appearances off the bench in 2023/24. It looked as though he might build on that this season but the former Liverpool man struggled to get a look in and was loaned out to Swiss club, FC Thun. Stewart scored his first professional goal in late January and has featured in the majority of Thun’s games.

He was someone Lowe tracked while at Liverpool and the striker’s finishing ability was praised highly by the now-Wigan boss. Stewart is under contract until 2026 at Preston but Thun do have a buy-option. If they opt against triggering that, though, the forward could well be on the move again in the summer. The Championship has proven a difficult challenge but Lowe may back him to thrive in a division below.

Peter Murphy

Murphy was brought to North End by Lowe and he has previously worked at Wigan - in both academy and first team capacities. He has been kept on board at PNE and worked closely with Paul Heckingbottom and Stuart McCall - with a focus on set-pieces. Lowe, though, has confirmed he is looking to boost his backroom team at Wigan. His Preston assistant, Mike Marsh, is working at Turkish giants Besiktas.

“Yeah listen, I will be looking to bring at least one person in with me but again, give credit where credit is due, to the staff,” said Lowe. “Frankie Bunn stepping up, Graham Barrow coming in and Glenn (Whelan) has obviously done fantastically.

“I am really looking forward to working with them and getting some insight off them but, hopefully, I will add another body in the near future. There is no real rush but I want someone who is going to buy into me, buy into Wigan Athletic Football Club and buy into the project we’re trying to build.”

Ryan Ledson

There’s every chance the number 18 signs a new contract at PNE - that is something the player has made clear he wants to do and Heckingbottom hasn’t ruled out an extension. But, if nothing transpires for Ledson then you would imagine Lowe jumping at the chance to reunite with the player.

Ledson has contributed positively for Preston in recent weeks and played at Championship level for seven years now. He strongly feels he can still perform at the level as well. So, it could be a non-starter for Wigan if there did prove to be interest there.

A couple of Championship clubs were also linked with Ledson in the January window - Oxford United and Portsmouth. Time will tell what the future holds for the midfielder and whether his North End journey continues. If available on a free transfer, though, he may be someone Lowe looks at as a potential captain.

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