Double motives for Wigan as they look to bring in Man Utd striker

Scoring the fewest goals in the Premier League so far this season is a predominant reason why Wigan find themselves in the bottom three, but bringing in Mame Biram Diouf could be in their favour for two reasons.

The obvious is that his goals could be responsible for firing Wigan to safety and they are only two points adrift from safety at present, despite netting just 18 times in their 20 fixtures to date.

Franco Di Santo tops their scoring charts with four goals, but has scored only one in his last ten appearances since September, while Hugo Rodallega is widely expected to be their main marksman but has just one goal to his name all season.

A striker who can find the net with some degree of regularity would provide a major boost to Wigan’s survival hopes and although Diouf has hardly been prolific in recent campaigns, this could change if he benefits from a run of games.

Diouf has been reduced to just three appearances in the Carling Cup for Manchester United this season, but did score six times in a loan spell at Blackburn in the last campaign.

The Senegalese forward will also have the incentive to do well, having seen Danny Welbeck get first-team opportunities at Old Trafford this season following a successful loan stint at Sunderland.

If he enjoys a fruitful period at Wigan, he would at worst almost certainly move ahead of Federico Macheda and Michael Owen in the Manchester Untied attacking pecking order.

Alternatively, he could seal a permanent switch to Wigan and ensure himself another season of Premier League football.

Furthermore, if Diouf can keep Wigan up, it could help the club keep hold of assets Rodallega and Victor Moses.

The former is out of contract at the end of the season and does not look overly close to signing a new one, while Moses is also stalling on an extension as interest hots up from Sunderland and even Liverpool.

Wigan are 1/2 in the Premier League odds to be relegated at present and after numerous seasons battling against the drop, it is hard to argue that their time must be up soon.