Wigan Athletic this week announced the signing of Jamie Hanson from Derby County on loan until the end the season. The 21 year old Hanson is 6 ft 3 in tall and played 5 times for the England under 20 team.

On signing Hanson, Warren Joyce commented that: “Jamie is an exciting prospect and Derby feel that his immediate development will be better served by coming on loan to us. He is versatile and can play in a number of positions in midfielder or in defence and we are delighted to have brought him to the club.”

James Hanson was born in Burton-on-Trent and has spent more than 10 years at Derby. He  had built up a reputation as a set piece specialist having scored from several direct free kicks at youth level. He made his first team debut in a holding midfield role in a 1-1 draw at Norwich in March 2015, scoring directly from a corner. He was named Player of the Season for the under 21 squad for 2014-15.

Hanson now has made 27 appearances for Derby, with 14 starts and 11 substitute appearances being in the Championship.

In order to learn more about Hanson we contacted the Ollie Wright at the @derbycountyblog.

Here’s over to Ollie:

First and foremost, he’s a defender or defensive midfielder, who wants to scrap and tackle. There’s no doubt over his effort and commitment levels, as his nickname ‘bruiser’ implies. The swelling band of ex-Rams at your place will be well aware of him, so hopefully he will have no problems fitting in.

 His willingness has led to his been used as a utility backup player at Derby, covering the holding role and both full back positions, but we were always told that he was being trained as a defensive midfielder and that is where he’s most comfortable.  A bonus is that he is possessed of a bit of a rocket shot and has scored some fairly impressive free kicks for Derby’s U23s in his time. 

 At this stage in his development, he’s pretty unspectacular on the ball – more the kind of player who wins the ball and shifts it than someone you would look at as a creative threat.  In his emergency duties as a full back, he very much stayed in his own half, which points to some technical   limitations.

 Supporters always love to see youngsters coming through the ranks, so his progress at Derby has been followed with interest and some indulgence.  Personally, I am not sure that he will make it with Derby long-term, but if he can establish himself in your team and learn from playing regular football at this level, then that might well give him the platform to kick on and prove me wrong. 

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