Dutch right back Ronnie Stam only arrived at Wigan last month, but has already established himself as a regular in the first team. Signed from Dutch champions FC Twente as a replacement for Mario Melchiot, the 26 year old arrives at the DW stadium at the peak of his career having just won Twente’s player of the season, and so it is no surprise he has settled in so quickly.
Although he was signed as a right-back, he was played at right midfield in Wigan’s last game against Tottenham, which along with Wigan’s first clean sheet of the season is enough to put him firmly on our radar.
At the start of the season, if you had looked at Wigans first three games, you’d probably have expected them to get three points and a clean sheet in one game, and lose heavily in the other two. While that is exactly what happened, I don’t think even Paul the psychic Octopus would’ve predicted their win at White Hart Lane, or the 4-0 thrashing by Blackpool. Wigan’s frustrating lack of consistency is a good reason to exercise caution before considering any of their defensive players but it really is hard to overlook Wigan’s upcoming fixture list; they have 4 home games in the next 6 against SUN MCY bir WLV new BOL, and they don’t have a hard run of fixtures until Gameweek 17.
When you look at the Tottenham game in isolation, playing Stam at right midfield was a logical choice. Charles Nzogbia, Wigan’s usual right midfielder had been dropped after trying to engineer a transfer away from Wigan before last week’s deadline, and Gareth Bale’s attacking threat down the left wing meant playing two right backs on that side allowed Wigan to double up on him if required. Stam added much more than just defensive solidity however; he was a key part in Wigan’s attacks and consistently got himself into dangerous positions.
A quick look at the OPTA stats in the member’s area confirms his attacking potential; with 4 key passes and three through balls in his two and a half games so far, even if he is shifted back to right back, assists are bound to come soon. Only Evra with 6 and Foley with 5 have more key passes than Stam.
Whether Stam continues in his advanced role in the long term is uncertain, as recent reports suggest Nzogbia could be back in contention for the Sunderland game this weekend. It’s hard to see Martinez changing things around after such an excellent team performance at White Hart Lane, however. Even if he drops to right back, at just 4.4m and the potential to be played as an Out Of Position (OOP) defender when required, Ronnie Stam looks to have the most potential of all the Wigan defenders and could turn out to be an excellent value pick for the foreseeable future.