Steve Bruce thought he had the France midfielder in the bag last night after a £3.5m deal was agreed with Birmingham and the player passed a medical in Wigan.

But the transfer failed to go through after a row between Kapo and the
Blues over money he supposedly owes them.
He was fined two weeks' wages for reporting back late for pre-season training – and that's the sticking point.

Kapo is refusing to pay and Birmingham won't sanction the deal until the debt is settled, leaving Latics totally frustrated.
It is hoped a compromise can be found today, paving the way for the former Juventus man to be reunited with Bruce.

Latics were flying out to Austria this afternoon after a morning training session at Christopher Park. Kapo should now join them on Saturday.

He's recovering from surgery to repair a broken hand and is due to return to Monaco first to see the specialist who operated.
While Kapo is angry at Birmingham's stance, he'll want the move to go through in order to continue playing Premier League football.

Bruce's interest in him goes back to the early days of his time in charge at Wigan, with Latics making enquiries during the January transfer window.

He has continued to track the 27-year-old since the end of last season and it did look like Bruce tried to arrange a cash-plus-player swap deal.

But in the end, it needed a straight cash deal for Birmingham to be prepared to do business.

If the deal does get the green light, Bruce will have greatly strengthened his midfield ready for the new campaign.

Kapo can play either on the left side of midfield, in the
centre or off the strikers, with the left-wing role likely to be the one he fills most at Latics.

Bruce was keeping in touch closely with the situation as he prepared for the 10-day trip to Austria.

Latics are basing themselves in the mountains in the south of the country, two-and-a-half hours drive from Salzburg.

Bruce told the Evening Post: "We'll have the Sound of Music blaring out when we're there. I've been twice before and it's a great place to train.

"It will be nice to have everyone together and it will help integrate the new lads – as long as we get them here.

"We have three games there, then four more after we come back – it's all about being ready for West Ham on August 16.
"Training has gone very well so far. All the lads have come back okay, and now there is a lot of hard work in Austria."