Grigg scored 25 goals in 40 games to justify talk of a move to Celtic at the end of 2015/16 – he’s netted just eight in 47 since.
Will Grigg’s fire has most definitely been extinguished. Everyone was talking about the Northern Irish striker in the summer of 2016, even German centre-back Mats Hummels was aware of the threat posed by Wigan’s number nine in the European Championships.
Understandably so. Grigg was hot property a year ago, scoring 25 goals in 40 games to inspire The Latics to Championship promotion in 2015/16. Even Scottish champions Celtic were reported to be interested in a striker who cost Wigan just £1 million from Brentford the previous summer, as reported by Herald Scotland.
Flash forward to the present day, however, and Grigg’s chart-storming ditty has long been forgotten – just like its 1996 forefather Freed from Desire.
Grigg, who to the chagrin of neutrals everywhere did not step onto the turf for even a second at Euro 2016, scored just five goals in 33 Championship appearances for Wigan last season. And the 26-year-old’s form hasn’t exactly improved since Paul Cook’s side were relegated back to the third tier, tallying just three goals in his 14 outings in 2017/18.
The fire extinguished
Talk of a big-money move to Celtic, then, has all but evaporated. You wonder what might have been had Grigg, who insisted at the height of speculation that he was happy with Wigan according to Herald Scotland, made the move at the height of his career.
A failure to prove his worth in the Championship means teams higher up the footballing pyramid will more than likely be put off. And, just a few weeks after Grigg pretty much ruled out a move to Celtic, the Scottish champions signed one Moussa Dembele from Fulham. And he’s done rather well.
Grigg may have plenty of time on his side at 26 but you wonder whether he will ever get a better opportunity than Celtic.
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