Joe Williams becomes latest ace to exit Wigan Athletic

The 23-year-old enjoyed a superb debut campaign with Latics after joining last summer from Everton.

But with a £2.5million relegation clause in his contract, he was always likely to be moved on during the club's current difficult times.

While it's not believed City paid the full £2.5million figure, it does allow Latics to forward the remaining payment they owed to Everton, further reducing their debt to football creditors and hopefully moving towards exiting administration.

“We are thrilled to welcome Joe as our first signing of the transfer window. Joe is young, but he has Championship experience and he impressed us during the time we watched him at both Bolton and Wigan," City chief executive officer Mark Ashton told the Robin's official website.

City head coach Dean Holden added: “Joe is going to form a big part of our squad and so I’m delighted to have this opportunity to work with him, especially as we fought off competition from a number of big clubs.

“Joe is a quality passer of the ball, he is physical too and he has a winning mentality that is so important.”