, Leicester City title-winner reveals he wanted 2013 Derby County loan move

Leicester City title-winner reveals he wanted 2013 Derby County loan move

Speaking to Aston Villa fan podcast ‘Claret and Blue’, Leicester City’s title-winning winger Marc Albrighton has revealed that Paul Lambert blocked a loan move to Aston Villa in 2013, sending him to Wigan Athletic instead.

Derby County embarked on a push for promotion in the 2013/14 Championship campaign. They finished in 3rd place before losing in the play-off final in heartbreaking fashion to QPR.

In their ranks they had the likes of Johnny Russell, Jamie Ward, Simon Dawkins and Michael Jacobs available on the wing over the course of the season. Now, it has been revealed that Marc Albrighton – who was with Aston Villa at the time – nearly joined the club on loan in October 2013.

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Albrighton has provided insight into the failed move to Derby County, revealing that he wanted to make the move to Pride Park when he had to choice between the Rams and Wigan Athletic. He said:

“Paul Lambert said ‘Right, you can go out on loan. I think it was Wigan and Derby that were interested in me at the time. I got a phonecall off Nigel Clough and I loved everything I heard from him on the phone.

“I hadn’t heard about Wigan at the time. I thought if Vila are willing to do it and they can arrange the deal that’s great. I can go and get some football for a month and then come back after Christmas and hit the ground running.

“I ended up going into training and speaking to Paul Lambert about the phone call that I’d had from Derby.”

Albrighton went on to discuss how Lambert broke the news to him that he would instead be making a loan move to Wigan Athletic. The midfielder admitted his surprise at the sudden change but added he doesn’t have a bad word to say about his spell with the club.

“He said ‘You’re going to go to Wigan’. Straight away I thought why? Derby was above Wigan in the league at the time. I thought Derby suited me more location wise and with the squad they had.

“I thought it’s a strange one but he was persistent that I go to Wigan. Whether it was the fact he was good friends with Owen Coyle and that had a part to play I’m not sure. But I ended up going to Wigan and to be fair I’ve not got a bad word to say about my time there.”

In his time with Wigan, Albrighton played in four games during his month-long stay. Since then, he has written himself into Leicester City folklore, playing a part in their iconic title-winning season under Claudio Ranieri.

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