/world sport
WIGAN, England -- Wigan Athletic chairman Dave Whelan is optimistic that Steve Bruce will become the club's new manager this week.
Bruce was in charge at Wigan for seven weeks in 2001.
Whelan has agreed to pay compensation to Bruce's present club, English Premier League rivals Birmingham City.
Whelan said that he had already had preliminary discussions with Bruce and would have a formal meeting on Monday which he hoped would be followed by an announcement on Monday or Tuesday.
"We look like we have a contract but nothing is agreed," Whelan told BBC radio 5-Live. "There is no doubt that he was keen to come to Wigan."
Whelan agreed that the fee of £3 million ($6.12 million) compensation mentioned in media reports, was close to the mark.
"There is a clause in there and we have to honor that and we have agreed that with Birmingham," he said. "But to get manager of Steve Bruce's quality I think that's a bargain."
Bruce is working in an unsettled atmosphere at Birmingham, where a long-running takeover deal is yet to be resolved.
If Bruce moves into the Wigan post it will be his second spell in charge of the club. He joined them in April 2001 but after seven weeks, in which they lost in the semifinals of the Second Division playoffs, he joined Crystal Palace.
He had a distinguished playing career, particularly with Manchester United, where he made 306 appearances and captained them to the league and cup double. E-mail to a friend 
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