Walker's aiming to be the Don!

Latics completed the capture of the 24-year-old Hearts forward on Monday on a two-and-a-half year deal, for a fee believed to be in the region of £300,000.

And Walker says his mind was made up to move to Wigan – ahead of SPL giants Rangers – following a chat from Cowie, the former Latics midfielder who is now at Hearts.

“Don’s a mate of mine, and he had only positive things to say about the club,” Walker told the Wigan Post.

“He said it was a good place to be, full of great people, and the perfect club to further my career.

“When somebody who’s had such a great career, played in the Premier League, says that...there’s no better person to take advice from.

“That just made up my mind once and for all that it was the right move for me.”

Walker also admits the attraction of working under manager Paul Cook was something he couldn’t turn down.

“There were a few clubs I had in mind, that were interested,” he revealed.

“But once I met the manager, there was only team I wanted to join, and that was Wigan.

“The way he spoke, the way he went about his business, the way he wants to play, impressed me very much.

“It’s a big move for me, and also my girlfriend and my little boy.

“But it was an easy decision to make in the end.

“I’d been at Hearts for 14 years, and the last six months have been very frustrating.

“Now’s the time for me to make the move and take the next step in my career.”

Not that Latics fans will be seeing their new signing, who will wear the No.7 shirt vacated in the summer by Alex Gilbey, before the end of the month.

“I picked up a little knock in my last game in Scotland, which might see me miss a couple of games,” he added.

“But once that’s out the way I want to hit the ground running and show what I can do.”