- Latics sign midfielder Ollie Norburn on loan from Blackpool
- The 32-year-old joins up until the end of the 2024/25 campaign
- Norburn has made over 300 appearances in the EFL for Tranmere Rovers, Shrewsbury Town, Peterborough United and Blackpool
Wigan Athletic have loaned experienced midfielder and former Blackpool captain Ollie Norburn, subject to EFL and FA approval.
Norburn becomes Shaun Maloney’s fifth signing of the January transfer window providing a wealth of experience and bolstering Latics’ midfield ahead of the remainder of the 2024/25 season.
The 32-year-old started his career in the youth set-up at Leicester City, before later making his professional breakthrough with Bristol Rovers.
After making six appearances, initially on loan, Norburn turned his stay at the Memorial Stadium into a permanent one in the summer of 2012. Norburn made 59 appearances for the Gas across two seasons before making a switch to Plymouth Argyle in July 2014.
Later stints with Guiseley and Macclesfield Town preceded a successful spell with Tranmere Rovers, who Norburn helped win promotion to League Two via the play-offs in 2018.
His form resulted in a move higher up the EFL pyramid in the following summer to Shrewsbury Town which saw Norburn’s outstanding leading qualities come to the fore. During three years in Shropshire, Norburn made over a century of appearances, proudly becoming captain.
The powerful central midfielder gained a lot of admirers due to his technical ability, versatility, and ferocity, earning a move to the Championship with Peterborough United in August 2021. Norburn established himself as an integral player for the Posh, featuring on 36 occasions in the second tier before helping them reach the League One play-offs in 2022/23. He was named club captain in November 2021.
Blackpool beat significant competition to secure the services of the midfielder in June 2023, and Norburn made 39 appearances in his debut season at Bloomfield Road last term before being made club captain.
Having contributed to six victories and four draws in 13 appearances for Blackpool this term, Norburn will now spend the rest of the 2024/25 campaign at the Brick Community Stadium.
The 32-year-old follows in the footsteps of Josh Robinson, Joe Hungbo, Will Goodwin, and Jon Mellish in becoming part of the club’s exciting project, and will be hoping to use his wealth of EFL experience to aid Latics’ young squad in the coming months.
Norburn, who will wear the number 25 shirt, said: “The club speaks for itself, and I am delighted to be here. I have spoken to the manager [Shaun Maloney] and Gregor [Rioch] and understand their ambition and the potential of the squad, and I am looking forward to getting on board with that.
“The opportunity to come here is huge for myself and I want to get to the high levels of performance that I know I can. I am really happy to be here, and I can’t wait to get going.
“I have been captain at a few different clubs and I will hope to bring that experience and leadership to the group. It is a team full of talent and hopefully I can help bring out the best in them.”
Maloney said:“We are very pleased that Ollie will be with us. He has demonstrated his quality throughout his career and has considerable experience at this level.
“He is a fantastic character and a natural leader, which will bring much-needed seniority to our midfield. I look forward to working with him and hope he has a successful time with us.”
Sporting director Rioch added:“We are very pleased to sign a player of Ollie’s calibre and quality, and I’d like to personally thank Blackpool for their support in enabling us to bring him to our football club.
“Ollie’s signing means we have now brought in five new faces into the squad with just over half of the January window behind us.
“We are delighted that with the financial backing of our ownership group, three of those signings are on a permanent basis which was a big target for us. However, the opportunity to bring in a player of Ollie’s calibre and experience on loan until the end of the season was too good to turn down.”