Saturday, January 10, 2009

Wigan Hold Fire On Emile Heskey With Liverpool Waiting In The Wings


Emile Heskey is certain to rejoin Liverpool in the summer but Steve Bruce will resist any bid to hurry his England striker's leaving date as £4.5million Colombia star Hugo Rodallega gets used to life in Wigan.

Aston Villa's interest has cooled in Heskey, who is running down his contract, because Anfield is his preferred destination, and manager Rafa Benitez knows it would take a £4m bid to prise his target from Wigan in the transfer window.

Rodallega, 23, was also pencilled in for the summer until a change of regime at his Mexican club Necaxa. Bruce is confident that he will get a work permit on Monday despite falling just short of the international match criteria.

But Wigan's manager insists that will not mean accepting any advances from Liverpool boss Benitez for Heskey or allowing rejuvenated striker Henri Camara to join rivals Stoke's survival battle.

Bruce, sure of Amr Zaki's loan status until the end of the season, expects Rodallega, who scored 15 goals in 36 matches last season, to need months to adjust fully to the English weather and culture.

He said: 'It would be unfair to expect him to have an instant impact but if I've still got Heskey, Zaki and Camara - which I'm convinced I will - it would be an ideal time to bring him in. We'll ease him in gently.'

Wigan's match tomorrowwith Tottenham is followed by games against Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa.

Bruce said: 'It's massive. If we can beat Tottenham and have 32 points by mid-January, that's fantastic for us.

'This is our defining month.'

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