To warn Sam Tickle, Emile Heskey, Arsenal and Manchester United are planning a raid on Wigan Athletic.

Even though Arsenal and Manchester United are supposedly interested in signing Sam Tickle, Emile Heskey has told him to stay at Wigan Athletic for now.

Since the beginning of the 2024–25 League One season, Wigan has had a rough patch, winning just three of their first twelve games. Wigan are 18th in the league after losing to Cambridge United and Mansfield Town in a row.

Shaun Maloney’s, on the other hand, are built on mostly strong defensive foundations and aren’t easy to break down. Wigan have let in eight goals, which is more than any other team in the division except Wrexham and Exeter City, both of whom are currently in the top six. They have also kept eight clean sheets, which is tied for the most in the league with Stevenage.

Wigan are also the only team in the bottom half of League One with a positive goal difference at the time of this writing. This is because they have a great record of keeping goals out.

It has been very important to get them to score at the other end, but there can’t be too many complaints about the defense, and highly-rated shot-stopper Tickle is a big part of that.

Before losing to Norwich City on Saturday and then to Chelsea on Tuesday, Tickle had kept seven straight clean sheets. It’s clear that Wigan would be much worse off without him in goal. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that other teams are interested in the 22-year-old.

Arsenal and Manchester United want to buy Wigan Athletic’s Sam Tickle.
A story from earlier this month by TEAMtalk said that Arsenal and Manchester United are both keeping an eye on the Wigan goalkeeper in case they decide to make a move for him.

According to the report, Arsenal has been interested in him for a long time and was considering signing him during the summer before Mikel Arteta decided to get Neto on loan from Bournemouth to replace Aaron Ramsdale. It is said that they had to do this because Tickle turned them down.

But it is said that Arsenal and United have kept an eye on Tickle ever since. United is looking for a young goalkeeper to fight with Andre Onana for the first-choice spot.

Also, Tickle is said to appeal to both of them because of his age and promise. Wigan are said to be expecting offers in January after learning of the “growing interest” in signing him.

Emile Heskey’s advice to Sam Tickle as Arsenal and Manchester United show interest

The chance to play in the Premier League will make Wigan worry about Tickle’s future. That being said, Heskey, who played in the Premier League for Liverpool, Leicester City, and Wigan Athletic, has given the in-demand young player some advice.

Between 2006 and 2009, Heskey played 85 times for Wigan in the Premier League and scored 15 goals. He then signed with Aston Villa. But he told Tickle not to go to the dream land so soon in his career because it’s not likely that he would get a spot on the first team right away.

Heskey told Football League World in an exclusive interview that if he could give Tickle any advice, it would be to stay because he wants to play.

“A lot of young players who were doing really well when they made the move and then had a hard time.”

“No one should feel bad about making a move, but you should still be playing.”

“He needs to play all season because no matter how well he does, people will be interested in him.” It will be hard to keep him, but I think you should stay until the end of the season. After that, you should think about making a move, but it has to be the right one.