The club are believed to be well down the road in negotiations to bring in the Everton striker for a fee in the region of £10m.

That would shatter their record transfer pay-out which is currently the £5.5m they paid for Emile Heskey two years ago.

Latics are in competition with Sunderland for the England international, but the fact 27-year-old Johnson doesn't want to uproot his family from Cheshire has swung things in Wigan's favour.

Everton are reluctant sellers with Toffees boss David Moyes previously claiming the player wasn't for sale.
But as Moyes needs funds to finance summer transfer dealings at Goodison, he will allow Johnson to leave if the price is right and if the player states he wants a move.

Should Latics land the frontman, it would be a case of second time lucky after former manager Paul Jewell bid £8.5m two years ago.
That offer was accepted by Crystal Palace, only for Everton to match it and Johnson to decide he wanted to go to Merseyside.

Bedford-born Johnson had previously played under Bruce briefly at Birmingham, but he let him leave St Andrews in a swap deal for Palace's Clinton Morrison.

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