Was there ever any doubt that Roger Espinoza would gain his work permit?
There should not have been, although I suppose these things are never done until they are done.
Wigan, one of the frugal sides of the Barclay’s Premier League, began showing interest in Espinoza back in the summer – but got in a little late to complete the move then. Well, they didn’t waste any time in securing the Honduran international for the January transfer window.
Wigan cleared the last big hurdle on Monday as Espinoza was granted his permit. The acquisition has held up MLS men before, although not for a while. Plus, Espinoza has more than proven his international chops, a regular for the Hondurans’ full national team and a standout in the country’s surprisingly strong Olympic performance last summer.
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez was in London for the hearing. From the report at FIFA.com:We prepared an excellent case for Roger and it is great news for us that he can now join up in January. He is a player we have been following closely since June 16 2010, when he made his debut in the World Cup versus Chile.
In that game, he showed tremendous potential and slowly he has been developing into an exciting footballer over the last three seasons in the MLS and has enjoyed terrific experiences at international level, specifically his role with Honduras in the Olympic games.”