As part of the 125 year celebrations, ‘A Trip Down Sheepfoot Lane’ continues with 'one of our own' and current Premier League star James Tarkowski.
The Manchester-born centre-half joined Latics in 2009 and progressed through the club’s academy system with a two-year scholarship.
'Tarky' then made his first start in a 1-0 defeat to Leyton Orient in March 2009 under Paul Dickov before establishing himself as a first-choice centre back alongside Frenchman Jean-Yves Mvoto in the 2012/13 season.
During his time with the club, he made 89 appearances and scored six goals before signing for then League One club Brentford on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee in January 2014.
The centre-back spent three seasons with the Bees, featuring 74 times and netting four goals for the club as well as achieving promotion to the Championship as runners-up.
Tarkowski's big break arrived soon after as he signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Burnley for an undisclosed fee and in his first season with the Clarets won the Championship title.
So far, the 27-year-old has played over 100 times for Sean Dyche’s side, establishing Burnley as a Premier League side and fighting to play in Europe once again, whilst taking on captaincy duties in recent weeks.
In March 2018, he also made a name for himself on the international stage with his England debut starting in the 1-1 draw with Italy at Wembley Stadium, and was one of five players named on standby for Gareth Southgate's 23-man England national team squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The player is a shining example of the academy graduates who have gone on to represent the club name at the highest level and as such everyone connected with Oldham Athletic is extremely proud of his achievements to date.