Roberto Martínez is expected to sign a three-year contract to succeed Steve Bruce as Wigan's manager on Wednesday but may be powerless to prevent several leading players leaving the JJB Stadium.
Wigan finalised a compensation package worth £2m to Swansea City for the 35-year-old last Thursday and the club's chief executive, Brenda Spencer, is believed to have agreed personal terms with their former player over the weekend. The details of Martínez's contract, and those of the backroom staff he intends to bring from Swansea, should be completed when Dave Whelan, Wigan's owner and chairman, returns from holiday on Wednesday. The Spaniard is then scheduled to be unveiled at a press conference on Thursday, just over a week after Bruce left for Sunderland.
"Everything is almost agreed, the only reason it has not been signed up is because I'm in Mallorca," Whelan confirmed. "I'm due back on Wednesday, the deal will be completed then, and we'll have a press conference on Thursday. I hope that Roberto stays with us for quite a long time. I was really sad to lose Steve Bruce, who was a great manager for Wigan, but Roberto is a wonderful man who knows football inside out."
Martínez, who spent six years as a player at Wigan, will be a popular appointment with the majority of the Latics' support despite being untested at the highest level, although in two years at Swansea he won the League One title and came within two places of reaching the Championship play-offs last season. The former Wigan striker Graeme Jones, Swansea's assistant manager, is expected to join Martínez back at the club.
The Spaniard's arrival, however, is unlikely to prompt Antonio Valencia or Paul Scharner to reconsider their futures at Wigan. The Ecuador winger has long been linked with a £15m exit and has been the subject of inquiries from Manchester United and Real Madrid in recent days, although Wigan have not received an official offer. Scharner is also determined to leave, with Fulham leading the pursuit of the Austria international, who today claimed Everton and Tottenham are also interested in his services.
