Wigan have swooped to sign Scottish defender Gary Caldwell from Glasgow Celtic. The fee is reported to be around £1m and the player will earn in the range of £20,000 a week. Caldwell has put pen to paper on a four and a half year deal.
The former Hibernian player was expected to transfer to Championship outfit Middlesbrough but Roberto Martinez swooped quickly for the 27-year old before he could join the Championship outfit. Caldwell is a product of the Newcastle youth system. He played for the Magpies at various junior levels but was not considered good enough to make a senior appearance.
Caldwell’s star had been on the rise since last year when he was voted 2009 Clydesdale Bank SPL Player of the Year as well as Scottish Football Writers Footballer of the Year. During his time with Glasgow Celtic, the defender won two League titles and two domestic Cups.
Caldwell becomes the third signing of the window for Wigan Athletic following the arrivals of Steven Gohouri and Vladimir Stojkovic. Caldwell is very versatile player who plays with equal ease at centre-back, right-back and as a defensive midfielder.
Caldwell sounded very upbeat about the move, “To play in the Premier League has always been an ambition of mine but I know how tough it’s going to be to get in the side and I need to focus on winning a place and doing the best I can for my new club. It’s a massive wrench for me to leave a club like Celtic but I want to thank the club and all the fans for the support they’ve given me in my time there. But I’m a Wigan Athletic player now and I can’t wait to get started in the Premier League.”
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