After a slow start for Wigan Athletic on his debut at former club Birmingham City, he has really settled in the centre-back position. Watching him closely in recent home games, he has really organised the back four and is constantly communicating with his fellow defenders.
In my opinion, he has to take a lot of credit for making us harder to beat in recent games. Also, he has helped us get clean sheets in tough games such as high-flying Ipswich Town away.
In fact, if we could have been more clinical in the final third of the pitch, we may have come away with some vital points when games have been tight. But now I believe we have got a goalscorer in Leon Clarke who can help us achieve the points we need.
So now that Ridgewell’s loan is soon to expire and we’ve got some firepower in the final third, I was worried that we wouldn’t replace Liam’s leadership skills in defence.
However, Malky Mackay has made sure that we will improve at the back after shipping some goals at home to Bournemouth via mistakes. The Latics’ manager has secured a loan deal for the very highly-rated centre half Harry Maguire from Hull City.
Maguire is a very solid defender and an adequate replacement for Ridgewell, at just 21-years of age he has a big future ahead of him. I’m sure he will be fully committed to the cause here at Wigan, as he will want to impress Hull boss Steve Bruce because his chances there have been limited.
The central defender also has a lot of experience for his age. He made well over 150 appearances for his first club Sheffield United and was the subject of interest from several Premier League clubs. Harry also helped the Blades to an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
I have no doubt that Maguire will have a huge impact here at Wigan Athletic. I can see him getting us tight at the back like Ridgewell did, as well as being aggressive in defence.
He can also chip in with a goal too, as he is a mere 6ft 4in in stature and scored some very important goals during his time in Yorkshire.