'The problem was' - Ryan Lowe now wants to keep hold of Wigan Athletic star Preston North End tried to sign
The former Preston North End boss is now in charge of Wigan Athletic
Ryan Lowe says Preston North End eyed a move for Sam Tickle during his time as manager, but were always priced out.
The Liverpudlian is now in the hot seat at Wigan Athletic, having been appointed as Shaun Maloney’s successor in mid-March. He guided Latics to a 15th placed finish in League One and is now building for his first full campaign at the club. Lowe departed PNE one game into the 2024/25 season, after two-and-a-half years with North End.
One player Preston were linked with during his tenure, and have been since, was the Wigan shot-stopper. Tickle kept another 18 clean sheets last season, taking his overall tally to 39 in 105 appearances. He made it into the latest League One Team of the Year, and Lowe wants to keep pushing him to new heights.
"Oh I knew about him... because Mike Pollitt kept telling me how good he was when I was at Preston, to try to sign him!" said Lowe. "The problem was he would have cost a lot of money, unfortunately.
“I now have the pleasure of being able to work with him, and he's going to be one of the best. He was voted the best goalkeeper in the division, and we knew that anyway. I've worked with some very good goalkeepers like Michael Cooper, Alex Palmer, Freddie Woodman, Daniel Iversen...top, top keepers.
“And what I will say is Sam will also be a top, top keeper, if he continues to learn, continues to listen and continues to pull off saves like he has been doing. I'm challenging him to be even better in certain areas, and you know what, he's got better with his kicking. He can clip balls that other goalkeepers can't.”
“As we sit here now...”
The Warrington-born man has been linked with Manchester United, Arsenal and Sunderland in recent years, as well as PNE. He is tied down until 2028 at Wigan, who are therefore in a strong position should approaches be made. Lowe is adamant that if Tickle leaves, it will need to be an excellent deal for Latics.
"In terms of the future, I don't really know what you want me to say," said Lowe. "He has three years left on his contract, so he's not going anywhere fast. And what I will say is we're not just going to sit back and allow any of our players to walk away cheaply, which has been the case before I got here for whatever reason.
"If there's anyone out there who wants to stump up the money we feel he's worth, then that's a conversation for the ownership group to discuss, rather than myself. As we sit here now, nothing like that has materialised. We'll look forward to Sam being the best goalkeeper in the division with us again next season, helping us to climb the table.”