Wigan Athletic Chairman Dave Whelan Admits Stars Hugo Rodallega & Charles N'Zogbia Could Join Arsenal Or Liverpool

Latics' chief concedes key duo can leave for a 'big club'

Wigan Athletic will not stand in the way of star duo Hugo Rodallega and Charles N'zogbia, should Liverpool or Arsenal come calling, according to Latics’ chairman Dave Whelan. Both Rodallega and N’Zogbia have been linked with moves to bigger clubs at the end of this season, and Whelan insists that Wigan’s policy has always been to help players further their careers.
“Wigan is a small club, we accept that,” he told Goal.com UK, “We have to look around and buy players and coach them, and I always tell my players that if a big club comes calling, I will never stand in their way.

 

“If you look now, we have a lad at Manchester United [Antonio Valencia] and a lad at Tottenham Hotspur [Wilson Palacios], and they are doing fantastically well.
"I think this current team has two or three players – Hugo Rodallega and Charles N’Zogbia for example – who can go on to play for top, top clubs. And I would never stand in the way of those players should that opportunity arise.”
Arsenal have been linked with a £20 million double-swoop for the pair, whilst Liverpool are rumoured to be preparing a summer move for Rodallega in a bid to boost their striking options, and Whelan believes Wigan’s reputation as a solid breeding ground for such players attracts big clubs to the DW Stadium.
“Wigan has earned, correctly, a reputation for being a good club to come to,” he said, “Players know that if they come to Wigan they will be in the first team, they will get good coaching, and they will get a chance to move on to a big, big club if they are good enough.”