West Brom winger Akeel Higgins on verge of Wigan move - here's how deal is structured
Akeel Higgins is close to leaving West Bromwich Albion to join Wigan Athletic on a permanent basis.
The 20-year-old winger is leaving The Hawthorns having made one senior appearance for the Black Country club, which came against Aldershot in the FA Cup Third Round in January 2024.
He spent last season on loan at Exeter City in League One, where he made 31 appearances in all competitions and scored two goals, with one of them coming in a Devon Derby win over Plymouth Argyle.
Despite being a regular in the third tier last term, it doesn't seem as though Higgins did enough to convince West Brom that he's worthy of staying with the Championship club and the decision has now been made to let him leave.
Wigan have now made a move for the young forward and a deal looks set for completion.
And while it's been reported that the Baggies are allowing Higgins to leave for free, there's a chance they'll earn a cash windfall in the future due to the nature of the terms agreed.
West Brom and Wigan's transfer agreement in detail
According to former Sun journalist Alan Nixon, Higgins is joining Wigan in a "bargain deal" that sees the Latics avoid paying an up-front fee for the Birmingham-born youngster.
Writing via his Patreon on Wednesday, Nixon claimed that a sell-on clause has been inserted into the deal that sees Higgins switch The Hawthorns for the DW Stadium and reunite with former Exeter manager Gary Caldwell.
After three and a half years at Exeter, Caldwell left St James Park to return to Wigan in February of this year.
The latest Higgins possesses is clearly not lost on Caldwell, who said he was "really excited" when the exit-bound Baggies starlet first joined up with him last year.
What West Brom could be missing by saying goodbye to Higgins
Albion fans have grown acustomed to saying goodbye to up-and-coming young players.
He definitely showcased promise at Exeter last season - enough promise to convince Caldwell to sign him for a second summer in a row.
After his goal against Plymouth last term, Caldwell admitted that the winger is a "slow burner" but has untapped potential just waiting to be released upon opponents.
Speaking to BBC Sport last October, the now-Wigan boss said: "We've had to build him up gradually, but we've all seen the quality, the players, his team-mates see the quality he has every single day, but he's now managing to get that into 60, 70 minutes I think he played tonight.
"He needs to keep working, he needs to keep progressing, but his talent is undoubted.
"Anyone who runs in front of the Big Bank and attempts to dink a goalie like that has got talent, and it's up to us to harness that and keep bringing more of that out on a weekly basis."
Clearly, this is a deal that greatly benefits Wigan than it does West Brom right now, who are losing a homegrown youngster who might have had more up-front value than the club has deemed this summer.
If he comes good at Wigan, so will the sell-on clause. But at the age of 20 and doing well enough in League One to join one of the more reputable sides in the division, it does feel as though there might end up being a bit of a missed opportunity from the Black Country club's perspective.