Dion Rankine welcomes impact at Exeter City as former Chelsea loanee signs for Wigan Athletic

Former Exeter City loanee Dion Rankine has completed a permanent move from Chelsea to Wigan Athletic. The Cobham graduate is leaving Chelsea to start a new chapter in his career after agreeing a permanent move to the League One club.

The versatile full-back or full-back impressed on his first loan in the Football League last season, featuring regularly for the Grecians in League One, and now continues his footballing journey at the same level with the Latics. And the 21-year-old hailed Exeter City for playing a big part in his development.

“I’m so excited to be here,” Dion told Wigan’s official website. “It’s been in the works for a while so I’m really excited to be here and close the deal – I can’t wait to get out there in front of the fans now. It’s the right step for my career. I feel like I have a really good opportunity to progress and to develop and I just want to play the best football I can here.”

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And the 21-year-old explained how his loan move to Devon exceeded his expectations and that he made lifelong friends at St James Park.

“I really enjoyed it,” said Rankine, speaking to Chelsea’s official website, before the move to Wigan was made official. “Before I started, I really wanted to go there, play men’s football and get good minutes. But when I look back on it, it exceeded my own expectations. I played a lot of soccer, made lifelong friends and enjoyed every minute.

“Compared to the Under-21 game, you play a lot more football – sometimes two or three games a week. It’s a whole other challenge. And then you have the actual matches where the teams play completely differently than anything we’ve come across before. It’s so different.

“And the fans were great. Exeter are owned by the fans so they are really supportive and have really invested in the team. I felt that and the whole team felt that extra boost when we played at home. I think I had a good season and it was good to have my first full season in men’s soccer. I’m excited and ready to go and get going.”

The winger admits it was a big leap to move to the other side of the country, but admitted it was an important change that allowed him to learn more about himself.

He continued: “It was the first time I had ever lived so far away from my family – probably about four and a half hours away. It was a big jump, but I had really great people around me and my family would come to the home games and stay over, which was pretty nice.

“I learned a lot about how to manage my body during that time. I’m 21 and you can get away with not having the greatest recovery sometimes, but when you’re playing Saturday and Tuesday every week, you’ve got to recover well or you’re going to struggle. It was something I learned to get better at.”

Rankine was also full of praise for the culture and dressing room he experienced at the Devon club, with the midfielder pointing to one player in particular who helped him.

“I spoke to the manager and the director before I joined so I knew what I was getting into,” he added.

“It was a pretty young team, so when I got there, everyone was so welcoming. It was really good and everyone was very happy to have me there. It was almost like I slipped into the group – it wasn’t really a big change for me. The locker room was really vibrant.

“After my injury, there were a few new signings and one of them was Yanic Wildschut. He really supported me. I think because I’ve played in a similar position and he’s had a really good career, it’s been good to have advice from him and the way he does things. He was almost like a mentor to me. It was very good to have him. Now I’ve had my first full season, I’m really excited to get started and hopefully get more goals and assists.”