Group fronted by Darron Gibson favourites to buy Wigan Athletic

The 33-year-old currently plays for Salford City

Darron Gibson is fronting a group looking to buy Wigan Athletic Football Club, who have been in administration since July last year, when their Hong-Kong based owner suddenly withdrew financial support. A consortium from Spain had looked likely to acquire the club last month but a deal fell through at the eleventh hour. Last week, administrators Gerald Krasner and Paul Stanley of Begbies Traynor that 38 parties had expressed interest in buying the club, who currently play in League One. 14 of those remained interested as of last Thursday and four of them had provided proof of funds, report MEN. And now the Athletic are reporting that the party fronted by former Manchester United, Everton and Sunderland midfielder Darron Gibson have emerged as favourites to complete a purchase of the club. Their report states that his group includes "management team with a strong track record in British football and it is backed by a foreign investor with British links." The group have shown proof of their ability to buy the club at its £3 million asking price and have the additional £4 million required to be able to fund the club's operations for the next two seasons. Bolton-based businessman Martin Halsall and South African businessman Saul Loggenberg are still contenders to buy the club, but Gibson's group are reportedly the most likely.