Wigan Athletic want to strike summer agreement for Nottingham Forest striker

Wigan Athletic boss Shaun Maloney has said he wants to ‘keep’ Nottingham Forest loanee Dale Taylor for a ‘long time’.

Wigan Athletic’s manager has outlined his desire to retain the services of the attacker beyond the end of this season. He is due to leave WAFC this summer and head back to his parent club when his temporary deal expires.

Taylor, 21, has caught the eye with the League One side in this campaign. He has made 28 appearances in the league and has chipped in with eight goals and seven assists.

Speaking after their 2-1 win over Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night, Maloney has said, as per the Latics’ official X account: “Dale Taylor has been brilliant for us, an absolute standout. I’m relying on him even more now with Will Goodwin’s injury and obviously with (Josh) Stones going to York. He’s been brilliant. I’m a huge fan of him. I would love to work extremely hard to keep him at this club for a long time.”

Wigan Athletic want to bring back Dale Taylor from Nottingham Forest

Wigan Athletic landed Taylor last year to boost their attacking department.

Nottingham Forest gave him the green light to leave to get some more experience under his belt.

The Reds are chasing Champions League football right now under Nuno Espirito Santo and have a big decision to make on the player’s long-term future later this year.

Taylor joined them back in 2020 from Linfield and has played once for their first-team back in 2022 in a Carabao Cup clash against Grimsby Town.

The Northern Ireland international, who has eight caps to his name, was loaned out for the first time when Burton Albion came calling in 2023 and he scored five goals in 20 games for the Brewers.

He then linked up with Wycombe Wanderers last term to further boost his development and found the net on nine occasions in 51 outings for the Chairboys.