It is Wigan Athletic’s worst start for 32 years. Latics lie at the bottom of League One after successive defeats in their first three games, and the alarm bells are already ringing. There is talk of relegation and, once again, the club is being criticised for not investing a significant sum to bring in a proven goalscorer over the summer. The question being asked by supporters is an obvious one: where are the goals going to come from?

The defeat at Wimbledon on Sunday was the most frustrating of the three. The losses at Cambridge and at home to Leyton Orient, goals were conceded through a combination of defensive errors and an inability to deal with pressure. Yet, despite conceding seven goals in three games, it is not the defence that seems to worry many supporters most. Latics would have won the Wimbledon game if they had not squandered so many scoring opportunities.

Up to this point there has been no settled defensive line-up. Individual mistakes in the back three have proved costly and, as a unit, they have not yet looked particularly comfortable. However, there is still a feeling that the defensive problems can be overcome as the new players settle in and the back three develop an understanding.

The arrival of centre-back Finley Burns from Manchester City has certainly been welcomed. At 23, he brings a sense of calm to the defence, is thoughtful in his passing and uses his 6ft 5in frame to good effect when dealing with the high balls that often rain into the penalty area in the third tier of English football. Having already made 69 League One appearances during spells with Stevenage and Reading, he looks, on paper at least, a very good signing at this level.

Despite his injury niggles, James Carragher remains a top defender at this level, while it appears that the experienced Morgan Fox could be moving on before the transfer window closes. Latics already have Llyton Chapman, who did well in the nine league games he played during the second half of last season, while Jeremiah Chilokoah-Mullen arrived as a free agent from Dunfermline after making 43 appearances for them last season. Jon Mellish has also returned following his year-long loan at Milton Keynes Dons, where he played 34 games. He has been used at left centre-back so far, although he is likely to become more of a utility player as the season progresses.

There are therefore reasons to believe that the defensive situation will improve. New players need time to settle, defenders need an understanding of each other’s game and, perhaps most importantly, there is plenty of the season still to play.

But where are the goals going to come from?

Gary Caldwell continues to insist that goals are not the sole responsibility of centre-forwards or central strikers and that everybody in the team needs to contribute. There is a rationale to that argument. Modern football is increasingly about goals coming from all areas of the pitch. But supporters will remember the dramatic turnaround last season when a player with a proven goalscoring record was brought in during January.

Ryan Lowe had brought in Dara Costelloe, Paul Mullin and Christian Saydee over the summer, while Maleace Asamoah was already at the club. Costelloe had scored regularly for Burnley’s academy before loan spells at Bradford City, St Johnstone and Dundee, although his record at those clubs was just one goal in 39 appearances. He then improved his return considerably at Accrington, scoring five in 17, and Mansfield, where he scored six in 15.

Unfortunately, his first season at Wigan produced only three goals from 25 starts and 16 substitute appearances. Asamoah, Mullin and Saydee contributed just seven goals between them. When Mullin’s loan from Wrexham was terminated in January, Wigan brought in Joe Taylor on loan, and his 11 goals helped lift Latics out of the relegation zone.

That is why the current situation is under some scrutiny.

Over the summer Caldwell signed Sonny Perkins, 22, for a small fee from Leyton Orient. Perkins had been a regular goalscorer for England’s junior teams during his time with Leyton Orient and West Ham, but those goals have become increasingly difficult to find as his senior career has progressed.

A look at the current forwards’ career EFL league records gives some cause for concern:

Player	Appearances	Goals
Dara Costelloe	68	14
Sonny Perkins	48	5
Christian Saydee	161	14
Chris Sze	13	1

This is not to say they are bad players, and it is certainly not an argument for writing any of them off. Perkins, in particular, has a pedigree that suggests there could be considerably more to come. He came through the West Ham academy, moved to Leeds and represented England at U16, U18 and U19 level. You do not achieve that without having considerable ability.

But potential is one thing. At some point it has to translate into production, and for an attacking player the obvious currency is goals.

Which brings us to Adam Moseley.

Moseley came through at Runcorn Linnets, and football runs in the family. His father, Mike, was himself a striker who played for Runcorn AFC before going on to enjoy a productive spell at Witton Albion. Adam followed a similar route, coming through Runcorn’s youth system before progressing into senior football.

He had already developed a reputation for scoring goals before Latics came calling. During his time with the Education &  Semi Professional Football Academy he won the North Division Golden Boot twice, scoring 23 goals in his first season and 30 in his second, before progressing into Runcorn Linnets’ first team.

Wigan took notice when Moseley joined the U21s as a trialist early last season. He did not waste the opportunity, scoring 17 goals in his first 13 appearances. That was enough to persuade the club to sign him permanently in January.

The goals continued to come, and by the end of the season Moseley had scored 27 goals in 30 appearances for Latics’ U21s.

It would be wrong to suggest that 27 goals in 30 games automatically makes Moseley a future 20-goal League One striker. The step up is enormous. League One defenders are stronger, more experienced and far less likely to give a young striker the time and space he may have enjoyed at development level.

Moseley might not be ready. He might struggle with the physical demands. He might need another season to develop. All of those things are possible.But how are we going to know unless he is given the opportunity?

There was already an indication that Wigan saw something in him before Gary Caldwell took over. Ryan Lowe included Moseley in the first-team squad for the FA Cup third-round trip to Preston North End. Wearing the No. 46 shirt, he travelled with the senior side for the 1-0 victory at Deepdale.

He didn’t get on the pitch, but it was significant nonetheless. Lowe had decided that the young striker was worth bringing into the senior environment.

Then Caldwell took over.

Despite Moseley continuing to score heavily for the U21s, the first-team appearance never came. I am not suggesting Caldwell should have started him, nor that a young striker with no senior experience should suddenly have been expected to solve Wigan’s goalscoring problems. But surely there was an opportunity somewhere towards the end of last season to give him 15 or 20 minutes and see how he coped.

Moseley did get a start this season in the EFL Trophy against Aston Villa U21s, playing at centre-forward. It was not an especially eye-catching performance, although he was credited with a goal when a defender’s clearance rebounded off him. Interestingly, he made little attempt to celebrate the goal, which perhaps said more about the nature of it than anything else.

The important point is that Latics clearly see something in Moseley. They watched him as a trialist, saw him score 17 goals in 13 appearances, signed him permanently, watched him finish the season with 27 goals in 30 appearances and then decided he was worth keeping.

In June the club gave him a new contract, with the deal running until June 2027. Moseley was clearly pleased to stay and was quoted by the club as saying:

“I’m really pleased to have signed a new contract with the Club. It’s a place that I have enjoyed my football since joining last season, and now it’s time to develop further over the next year.

“Committing my future here was an easy decision for me – I’ve enjoyed every minute, and I’m grateful for the trust the Club has shown in me. I’m looking forward to what the future holds.”

Maybe Caldwell thinks he isn’t ready. That is perfectly reasonable. The manager sees him every day in training and knows far more about his physical development, his strengths and weaknesses than we do. There may be very good reasons why Moseley hasn’t yet been considered ready for League One.

One obvious question is whether he has fully made the transition from part-time football to the demands of full-time professional football. That alone could explain why Caldwell has been cautious. But it doesn’t change the fundamental point: the one thing we still don’t know is whether Moseley can score goals against League One defenders.

The club’s financial situation means that Latics have a limited budget. If you do not have the money for the finished article, you have to be prepared to develop your own. That doesn’t mean automatically promoting every youngster who scores goals at academy level. It means recognising when somebody is producing numbers that are difficult to ignore and being prepared to take a calculated gamble.

Moseley’s numbers are certainly difficult to ignore. Seventeen goals in 13 appearances as a Wigan trialist and 27 in 30 for the U21s is a remarkable record. Meanwhile, the established forwards have the senior experience, but their career EFL goalscoring figures hardly suggest that goals are guaranteed.

Nobody knows whether the 21 year-old Adam Moseley could be the answer. Perhaps Costelloe will finally click. Perhaps Perkins will fulfil the potential that took him into the England youth set-up. Perhaps Sze will prove that the faith shown in him with a new contract was justified.

Despite his indifferent performances Caldwell has shown faith in Perkins up to this point, starting each game in the centre forward position. He scored a goal from a rebound at Cambridge, but other than that has been unconvincing. Having given the player a two-year contract Caldwell has to give him the backing to succeed. However, if there is no improvement over the coming weeks and the team has not climbed up the table. Caldwell will need to take action.

Caldwell has also kept faith in Costelloe, despite his woeful scoring ratio last season. The player has looked better playing wide with Perkins in the middle. He works hard and shows glimpses of skill and vision. However, his finishing is well short of the level it should be.

If the goals don’t come, there will be a need to make changes in the strike force. Sze continues to show glimpses of quality, but struggles to impose himself on the game.

Adam Moseley has spent the last year doing the one thing Latics desperately need somebody to do: scoring goals. He has done it at every stage of his development, and they have clearly seen enough to keep him at the club.

Maybe he isn’t ready. Maybe he isn’t the answer. But after 27 goals in 30 games, he has surely earned the right to show whether he can make the step up.Give him some minutes. Let him experience the physicality of League One. Let him find out what he needs to improve, and let us find out whether those U21 goals were a sign of something more.

Because when you don’t have the money to buy the finished article, sometimes you have to take a chance on the unfinished one. With Wigan’s current strikers struggling to find the net and the club once again working within financial constraints, surely it is getting close to the time to find out what Adam Moseley can do.

After all, if you’re looking for a goalscoring striker and you don’t have the money to buy one, perhaps the first place to look is the one you’ve already got.