Soccer-Wigan chairman says Martinez to be confirmed as manager

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - Roberto Martinez will be confirmed as Wigan Athletic's new manager next week, the Premier League club's chairman Dave Whelan said on Saturday.

Spaniard Martinez, who was also a target for Celtic, will return to the club he spent six years with as a player.

"Everything is virtually agreed and the only reason it's not been signed up is because I'm in Majorca," Whelan told Sky Sports News. "I'm due back on Wednesday and the deal will be completed on Wednesday afternoon, and we'll have a press conference on Thursday.

"It's 99 percent certain that Roberto Martinez will be our new manager. Everything is in place and the contract will be a three-year deal."

Martinez has won many admirers since becoming manager of Swansea City, who he led to the Championship (second division) last year and then to an eight-place finish in their first season back in the second tier of English football.

He is set to replace Steve Bruce who left Wigan last week for Premier League rivals Sunderland.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Dave Thompson. To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)