Former Premier League midfielder Sam Clucas has revealed that he was in talks with Wigan Athletic prior to his move to Hull City in 2015, in an exclusive interview with Football Lowdown.

Clucas had just enjoyed a standout season with Chesterfield in what was his first campaign in League One. Having hit 12 goals in all competitions, he helped the Spireites reach the play-offs, just 12 months after they had won League Two.

A comprehensive 4-0 aggregate defeat at the hands of Preston North End in the semi final ended their dream of successive promotions, but the former Lincoln City academy graduate had caught the eye. A summer of speculation followed, with Wigan and then-League One outfit Scunthorpe United linked with his signature.

Clucas Held Wigan Talks

Although Clucas had only signed for Chesterfield in the summer of 2014, it was clear that there would be a fight to keep him at the SMH Group Stadium. The Derbyshire-based outfit had paid just £70,000 to lure him from Mansfield Town and stood firm as the bids came in.

Wigan were thought to be one of the frontrunners, which has now been confirmed by the player himself. Speaking to The Championship Lowdown, the now-36-year-old said:

“At the time I was actually in talks with Wigan. I was going to be signing for Wigan. 

Spoke to the manager and stuff like that and my agent was in talks with them.”

🚨 EXCLUSIVE 🚨

🗣️ “I was actually in talks with Wigan.”

Sam Clucas spoke to The Championship Lowdown last week to look back over his career so far. Full episode out on Wednesday. ⬇️#wafc pic.twitter.com/ujRpmyfdHo

— The Football Lowdown (@FBLowdown) November 9, 2026

The Latics had just come off the back of a nightmare season which saw them relegated to League One. That disappointment had come just two years after their famous FA Cup triumph over Manchester City and it was clear that they were looking to bounce back to the Championship at the first time of asking.

Pre-Season Friendly Changes Everything

With a move to Wigan looking likely, it was a pre-season friendly which saw Hull City enter the conversation. Continuing, Clucas revealed the defining moment:

“Chesterfield actually had a pre-season game lined up against Hull, which was like a day after I’d spoken to Wigan, and I said I was going to play. So, I ended up playing in that game for Chesterfield and I think I played up front.

“I did really well. I think it was the next day or the day after, my agent had rung and said Hull want to sign you, they’re in Austria doing pre-season and they want you to fly out now and sign.”

The Tigers had just suffered relegation from the Premier League and were preparing for life in the Championship. It was one of Clucas’ opponents during that pre-season friendly who convinced manager Steve Bruce to make the signing:

“It happened really quick. I found out later on that it was actually Curtis Davies, at the time was playing centre-half for Hull in that game, and I think he’d said to the manager, ‘he’s a good player, he’s got good movement, (you) should look at him.’

“Obviously, Brucey liked me as well, got on to my agent and then ended up flying to Austria.”

Hull ended up paying a reported £1.3 million for Clucas, who then became an ever-present as they secured an instant return to the Premier League through the play-offs. The former Hereford star then featured 37 times in the top flight before a £16.5 million transfer to Swansea City in 2017.

You can hear the full interview with Sam Clucas on The Championship Lowdown, exclusively this Wednesday.