Sources: Chelsea starlet Reggie Walsh arrives at Wigan Athletic after agreeing deal

Chelsea midfielder Reggie Walsh was at Wigan Athletic today to finalise a loan move after agreeing terms, sources have told Football Insider.

Walsh, 17, is set for his first taste of regular senior football as he joins Gary Caldwell's League One side for the 2026-27 campaign.

Sources say Wigan have agreed a deal with Chelsea to take the rising star on a season-long loan.

The teen star is a creative player who can operate as an advanced box-to-box midfielder or as a number 10.

He joined the Blues' academy at the age of seven and made his way through their youth ranks to make his senior debut in the Conference League in May 2025.

He has since featured four times for their first team and was a key part of the side that won the under-18 Premier League title last season.

Chelsea feel that it is time for him to gain more senior experience, with League One football beckoning as he completes a move to Wigan.

Reggie Walsh to bolster Wigan squad in first senior loan spell

Walsh counts Blues star Cole Palmer as his main inspiration on the pitch, and Latics fans will hope he can perform in a similar manner this season.

Caldwell returned to the club in February and guided them to an eventual 16th-placed finish in the third tier, with the aim now being to build towards a play-off push.

Wigan took young Chelsea midfielder Harrison Bettoni on loan last season, and he impressed at times with four goals in 27 appearances.

They will be looking for more from Walsh this time around, with a deal close after Football Insider first revealed that Wigan were leading the race for his signature last week.

Enzo Maresca and Nicolas Jackson praise for Walsh bodes well for Wigan

Walsh is one of Chelsea's most highly-regarded academy prospects, having become their youngest ever starter in a European competition at just 16 years and 200 days old last May.

Wigan look to have fended off competition from the Championship and League One to sign him this summer, and their fans should be excited if previous praise of him is anything to go by.

Speaking about Walsh after his first-team debut, then-Blues boss Maresca said: “He’s very young, but in the way we want to play, in our way, in our style, he’s perfect. He's so good because he makes everything easy.”

While Chelsea teammate Jackson added: "He’s a very good player. Top quality. For sure he is going to go far. He has a lot of quality.”