Bruce eyes more talent
Wigan Athletic boss Steve Bruce plans to step up his recruitment drive in what could be a busy week in the transfer market for Latics.
Amr Zaki was due to complete his long-awaited loan deal from El Zamalek today, with Bruce also closing in on Middlesbrough midfielder Lee Cattermole.
There are set to be departures too, with Premier League newcomers Hull City having bid for Marlon King and Birmingham chasing Ryan Taylor.
On the pitch, Latics kicked-off their pre-season friendly programme with a comfortable 3-0 win over FC St Veit in Austria on Saturday night.
Bruce has been patient with his squad strengthening this summer, so far bringing in only Daniel de Ridder and Olivier Kapo.
But Egypt striker Zaki passed a medical during a two-day visit at the end of last week, with the paperwork on the season-long loan being completed today.
It has been a long and, at times, frustrating chase but Bruce rates the 25-year-old highly and sees him as the ideal strike partner for Emile Heskey.
Cattermole had emerged as Bruce's main target to add some steel to the centre of midfield following the breakdown of Hendry Thomas' move due to work permit problems.
Latics have been in touch with Boro about the 20-year-old, who is rated by the Teesside club around the 3m mark.
And Boro are ready to do business to help fund a bid for Reading midfielder James Harper.
On the sales front, Hull boss Phil Brown confirmed his interest in King over the weekend, with the two clubs now in talks over a price for the striker, who only moved to the JJB Stadium from Watford in late January.
Versatile Taylor is strongly interesting Birmingham, having initially been mentioned as a possible makeweight in the Kapo deal.
He scored both Latics goals in the 2-0 win over the Blues in April and is now in the final year of his contract at the JJB.
Meanwhile, goals from Henri Camara, Antoine Sibierski and Michael Brown – his first in a Wigan shirt – gave Latics their victory over St Veit.
Sibierski also missed a late penalty as Bruce's men cantered to the win over the Austrian part-timers.
Click next page for more ...The Latics starting XI was mainly a second-string affair, with youngsters Lewis Montrose and Tomasz Kupisz lining-up in midfield, while Carlo Nash and David Cotterill also featured.
But there were starts too for regulars Paul Scharner – wearing a protective facial mask following summer surgery on his nose – Emmerson Boyce and Kevin Kilbane.
The win pleased Bruce, who is set to field a much-changed side for tomorrow night's friendly against German side Eintracht Frankfurt.
He said: "It was a great little work-out but nobody should read too much into it because I used the game as a fitness
exercise first and foremost. I'll change things around for tomorrow as the object of these matches is to get everyone in shape and build their match sharpness."
Bruce picked out Camara for praise, with the striker opening the scoring with a neat finish in the first half.
The Senegal striker faces an uncertain future at Latics but has impressed Bruce since his return to training.
Bruce said: "Henri took his goal very well and looked a handful. He's come back looking hungry and he's undoubtedly a talented player."
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Wigan
Tuesday 07 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -6 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: -5 C to 0 C
Wind Speed: 6 mph
Wind direction: South east
