Ronan Darcy signs for Wigan Athletic ✍️
Wigan Athletic have signed Ronan Darcy from Crawley Town on a two-and-a-half year contract.
Wigan Athletic have signed Ronan Darcy from Crawley Town on a two-and-a-half-year contract.
Shaun Maloney had been left wanting more from the Latics’ attacking output, beyond the contributions from Thelo Aasgaard and Dale Taylor, and last season’s League Two Play-Off winning midfielder will be an exciting addition to our front-line options - especially after the recent departure of Aasgaard to Luton Town.
🗓️ Born: 4th November 2000 (Age: 24)
👕 Position: Attacking Midfielder
👟 Strong Foot: Right
Part One: An overview of Darcy’s career.
Part Two: Darcy’s role at Wigan.
An overview of Darcy’s career ⚽️
Ormskirk-born, Ronan Darcy, joined the Bolton Wanderers Youth Academy in 2008 at the age of 8.
After progressing through the ranks and spending a one-month youth loan with Skelmersdale in the Northern Premier League, the scholar made his senior debut at 18 in the final Championship game of the 2018/19 season, making a 20-minute cameo away at Nottingham Forest.
Wanderers were a League One side for the 2019/20 season and Darcy was included in the matchday squad for the first game of the new campaign. A 20-minute cameo against Wycombe Wanderers was followed by a start at home to Coventry City, before Darcy then started in an EFL Cup First Round tie against Rochdale. The 18-year-old netted his first goal for the Trotters in a 5-2 loss. ⚽️
Darcy made a total of 14 starts in 19 League One appearances throughout the remainder of the 2019/20 campaign and netted his first league goal away at Lincoln City in January 2020 after picking up assists against AFC Wimbledon and Shrewsbury a month earlier.
Wanderers were relegated to League Two for the 2020/21 season but Darcy only made 1 start in 8 appearances under new manager, Ian Evatt. After being an unused substitute in the first two games after New Year’s Day, Darcy was not selected for another match day squad.
On August 17th 2021, Darcy signed a new two-year deal with the Wanderers before joining Norwegian side, Sogndal, on loan in the Eliteserien - the top division in Norway - for the remainder of their campaign which runs until December. 🇳🇴
Darcy suffered an injury in an early training session and could only make 3 starts in 7 appearances for the final league games of the season. The midfielder helped the side to three draws and he provided an assist for the opener against Stjørdals-Blink.
Evatt welcomed Darcy back into the Wanderers squad with a six-minute cameo at home to Wycombe in January 2022, but that would be his final appearance for our neighbours.
At the end of the winter transfer window, Darcy joined Queens Park in the Scottish League One for the remainder of the 22/23 campaign. 🏴
Darcy made his debut for Marijn Beuker’s side with a 22-minute appearance off the bench away at Falkirk in a 1-1 draw. His only goal for the Spiders was an 84th-minute equaliser from the bench against Alloa Athletic in March 2022.
In total, Darcy made 4 starts in 10 appearances for Queen’s Park and helped them to 2 wins and 4 draws before returning to Bolton Wanderers at the end of the season.
On July 13th 2022, Darcy’s time at Wanderers came to an end after 14 years with the club as he joined Swindon Town in League Two. ✍️
“Ronan’s a wonderful kid with a fantastic attitude and really good ability. But, that area of the pitch for us is really competitive. He’s not quite where we want him to be right now but he’s taken a big leap forward to go and try and forge himself a career somewhere else.”
Ian Evatt speaking about Ronan Darcy | July 2022
Darcy made his debut for Scott Lindsey’s Swindon Town at home to Salford City as a halftime introduction in a 0-0 draw. The midfielder started his first game three days later against Walsall in the EFL Cup.
Throughout the 2022/23 League Two season, Darcy made 20 starts in 43 appearances and scored goals against Grimsby Town (1-2 win), Mansfield Town (2-5 win), Grimsby Town (5-0 win), and AFC Wimbledon (1-5 win). He also assisted Frazer Blake-Tracy for the opener against Stockport County (1-1 draw), and Tomi Adeloye for a late consolation against Newport County (2-1 loss) 📊
Swindon Town finished 10th in their 22/23 campaign, but Darcy made a brave switch to Crawley Town in the Summer, along with manager Scott Lindsey, who finished 22nd in the same season. ✍️
“Ronan is a great signing for this football club. He is somebody that I have worked with before, so I know that he is an exciting player with bags of energy. He works extremely hard and is a good technical player who will hopefully add some goals to the team.”
Scott Lindsey speaking about Ronan Darcy | July 2023
Darcy was included in every game for the 2023/24 League Two season, making 34 starts in 45 appearances and remaining an unused substitute just once.
The midfielder scored his first goal for the Red Devils against Tranmere Rovers in a 3-2 home victory on September 16th and followed it up with another goal a game later in a 3-2 away victory at Grimsby Town. A game later, Darcy provided two assists in a 3-0 victory at home to Sutton United. 💫
Further goals came against Crewe Alexandra (2-4 loss), Forest Green Rovers (2-1 loss), and Newport County (0-4 win), with assists against former club Swindon Town (3-1 win), Harrogate Town (1-2 win), and two against Mansfield Town (1-4 win).
Crawley Town achieved a 7th-place finish after the season ended, securing a place in the League Two Play-Offs.
Ronan Darcy made appearances off the bench in both Semi-Final games against MK Dons, scoring at home in the 3-0 win and assisting the final goal in the 5-1 away victory. Lindsey deployed Darcy off the bench again in the final as they beat Crewe Alexandra 2-0 to secure promotion to League One 🏆
Darcy’s return to League One started perfectly as he assisted Crawley’s second goal against Blackpool in an opening day 2-1 victory 🅰️
The midfielder started in each of the first six league games of the season with Scott Lindsey in charge. For their final game together, before Lindsey departed for MK Dons late in September, Darcy assisted the equaliser against Wrexham with Junior Quitirna the goalscorer again after netting against Blackpool too.
Rob Elliot took charge on October 1st and handed Darcy the captain’s armband in their fourth game together after the regular choices were either injured or suspended. Elliot had high praise for the midfielder.
“He epitomises the club, I think he is an unbelievable human being. He takes it so hard when we lose and he's so hard on himself but he has so much desire.
He has been absolutely superb since I've come here, on and off the pitch. He’s really driven the lads, it's been a big change for him personally, but Ronan Darcy is going to play at a higher level, I have no doubt about that.
He is such an important part of the team in the way he works.”
Rob Elliot talking about Ronan Darcy | October 2024
Darcy has made 19 starts in 21 league games so far this season, scoring against Lincoln City in a 3-0 victory and assisting further goals against Huddersfield Town (2) and Peterborough United.
Unfortunately, the midfielder has been suffering a groin issue this season with lumps in that area restricting his movement. The medics at the football club had recommended he took a break from Christmas onwards while they assessed the issue and worked towards solutions.
“It is a really strange one. I am sure he will not mind me saying, because obviously he doesn't like missing games, but he has got lumps in his groin where it is restricting his mobility.
It is not an injury as such, it is more of an issue. So he is OK. He is all fired in terms of that but obviously it's restricting him from playing. So, that is why we have not seen him.”
Rob Elliot speaking to Sussex World in January 2025
The attacker returned to action with a late cameo off the bench against Stockport on January 25th.
📊 Ronan Darcy’s Career Stats
⚪️ Bolton Wanderers | 35 Apps | 2 Games | 2 Assist
🇳🇴 Sogndal | 9 Apps | 0 Goals | 1 Assist
🏴 Queens Park | 10 Apps | 1 Goal | 0 Assists
🔴 Swindon Town | 46 Apps | 4 Goals | 2 Assists
👹 Crawley Town | 77 Apps | 8 Goals | 13 Assists
Darcy’s role at Wigan 🤝
Since the 2024/25 campaign got underway, it has been clear that chance creation and goalscoring have been an issue for Shaun Maloney’s side.
The Latics are 16th in the table for shots, 18th for shots on target, and 19th for goals scored. It simply has not been good enough and our results have largely depended on whether Dale Taylor and Thelo Aasgaard are having good games or not.
Beyond Taylor and Aasgaard, Maloney’s central attacking options had not been stepping up to the plate as he would have liked. Joe Hugill managed just three goals before returning to Manchester United and going on loan to Carlisle United in League Two, Chris Sze had played just 128 minutes of League One football, Will Goodwin has played just 169 minutes as he is still settling in, and no other players are showing enough in this area for Maloney to try something new.
Wigan Athletic’s attacking-midfield options.
Chris Sze (Age: 21)
Dale Taylor (Age: 21) - On loan from Nottingham forest.
Joe Adams (Age: 20) - Long term injury. Out of contract in Summer.
Academy youngster, Joe Adams, does seem like an exciting prospect but his long-term injury picked up on loan at Bradford City is likely going to keep him out for the remainder of the season, at which point his contract is currently set to expire.
Chris Sze has not been involved in a senior game since we faced Huddersfield in December, and I feel that filling the shoes of Aasgaard is too big of a challenge for the youngster at this stage.
Dale Taylor has been our best-performing loanee so far this season, but that is the big problem. He is a loanee. Once the season ends, he is set to return to Nottingham Forest unless Gregor Rioch can strike a deal to sign him on a permanent.
Before we dive into what Darcy could bring to our side, let’s address the Scandanavian elephant in the room. Thelo Aasgaard’s departure from the football club has left a massive hole in our goalscoring ability. The 22-year-old netted 8 goals this season and that will be tough to replace.
Thelo Aasgaard departs Wigan Athletic 🗞️
There are certain days in the football world that I dislike, and this is one of those days. Just like Charlie Hughes’ departure in the Summer, we knew this day would come eventually, but now it is of…
Darcy is a couple of years older than Aasgaard and has plenty of experience playing closer to the wing as well as centrally.
Let’s directly compare the two players’ 2024/25 season stats so far.
🔴 Ronan Darcy compared to Thelo Aasgaard 🔵
🏟️ Appearances | 21 (19 Starts) - 26 (23 Starts)
⏰ Minutes Played | 1660 - 2086
👟 Touches | 1106 - 1057
⚽️ Goals | 1 - 8
🅰️ Assists | 5 - 2
🥅 Shots | 28 (14 on Target) - 46 (26 on Target)
🎯 Pass Completion | 85% - 80%
🔑 Key Passes | 23 - 21
⤴️ Accurate Long Balls | 19/47 - 31/58
💪 Ground Duel Wins | 41/121 - 98/203
✈️ Aerial Duel Wins | 0/5 - 48/115
❌ Clearances | 9 - 42
💢 Blocked Shots | 0 - 7
🚫 Interceptions | 5 - 14
⛔️ Tackles | 12 - 26
From that data, we can see that despite playing 400 minutes less than Aasgaard, Darcy has had more touches on the ball, created more key passes, and provided more assists. This is promising.
Aasgaard certainly has outperformed Darcy in most metrics, especially the defensive ones. However, at this moment in time, Wigan Athletic are a better-performing team than Crawley Town, and the Norwegian had the benefit of playing in a system that brought out the best in him.
Maloney will have been hoping to bring in Darcy as a rotation option for Aasgaard from now until the end of the campaign, with the former Crawley Town man becoming the number one choice when the Norwegian departs in the Summer.
As Luton Town have snapped up the youngster in this window, Darcy now joins the club as the most senior central attacking midfield option and will be expected to get up to speed much quicker.
Personally, I am really excited by this signing as not only are we adding a player with strong potential to our squad, but it also shows that our ownership are making some long-term decisions that suggest our financial situation is much healthier.
Next season, we need to be pushing inside the top ten, if not the top six, and we are only going to be able to do that by getting the recruitment right. To me, this is a good step in that direction.
Welcome to Wigan Athletic, Ronan Darcy!
Up the Tics 🔵⚪️
🙌 Thank you for reading!
✍🏼 Charlie Keegan / Central Wigan
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