Blackpool captain Ollie Norburn is poised to leave the club as he undergoes a medical at a League One rival.

Pete O'Rourke, a transfer correspondent for Football Insider, said in a post on X that Norburn has passed his medical at Wigan Athletic. He's posed to join the Latics on a loan deal until the end of the season.

The loan would take Norburn right up to the end of his contract, with his current deal expiring this summer. He is currently out of favour at Bloomfield Road, and hasn't started a league match since the end of November.

Blackpool have already moved some players out this month with Zac Ashworth the latest, joining Ross County on a loan deal until the end of the season. The 22-year-old joined from West Brom in the summer, making 13 appearances. It was decided though that the best move for his development would be to play in the Scottish Premiership for the next few months.

Earlier in the month, Elliot Embleton was sold to Carlisle United, whilst Dom Ballard was recalled from his loan by Southampton. They have tied Josh Onomah to a new deal however, and recruited Samuel Silvera from Middlesbrough last week.

Ollie Norburn has found his first-team opportunities at Blackpool limited.

placeholder image — Ollie Norburn has found his first-team opportunities at Blackpool limited.

Ollie Norburn’s future at Blackpool

As mentioned, Norburn's contract runs until the summer of 2025 after joining from Peterborough United on a two-year deal. The 32-year-old has been an unused substitute for the last five matches, with his last outing coming in the EFL Trophy against Aston Villa in mid-December.

This season, he's made 13 appearances in total, with nine of those being starts. He had a period out with injury from between September to November, which was around the time Steve Bruce was appointed.

Blackpool are due to meet Wigan in their penultimate game of the season on April 26. Should the loan move take place, then it's likely Norburn would be ineligible to play against his parent club.

Hull City make improved bid for Kyle Joseph

Pete O'Rourke, the same journalist reporting Norburn's proposed move to the DW Stadium, also provided an update on Hull City's rumoured pursuit of Kyle Joseph. He said in a post on X on Thursday night that the Tigers had improved their offer and that it was in the region of £2m. Blackpool have so far rejected several of Hull’s offers for their top scorer.

The 23-year-old has seven goals and two assists in 24 league matches this season, ranking him as the clubs top scorer. He's been trusted to lead the line this season, starting all 24 games, and has overcome his injury problems that affected him last term.

In his pre-match press conference yesterday, Steve Bruce revealed it would take a 'hell of an offer' to prize away Joseph from Blackpool. The 64-year-old understood why there was interest in the forward given his ability, and admitted that every player has their price, but that things hadn’t advanced to that point.

Bruce said: “There’s been a few reports, but I think it’s more speculation than anything else just yet. It would take a hell of an offer for me to consider anything like that because Kyle epitomises what I like in a football player.

“Why wouldn’t there be interest, he’s a very good player. Every footballer has a price, but I don’t think we’re that far down the line, there’s been a registered interest but that’s football. Whether anything materialises, we’ll see.

“We all like Kyle and what he gives the team. He gives everything a supporter would want, and myself. If there’s been registered interest then you can understand why.