WIGAN ATHLETIC are expected to use a sizable chunk of the money generated from the anticipated sale of Wilson Palacios to Tottenham Hotspur to recruit the Republic of Ireland international Stephen Hunt from Reading.

The 27-year-old has a €5.5 million release cause in his contract and, although he is not a like-for-like replacement for Palacios, it is understood Steve Bruce is keen on signing the left-winger.

Hunt has made no secret of his desire to return to the Premier League following Reading’s relegation to the Championship last season, and, although Steve Coppell would be reluctant to allow the former Brentford player to leave mid-season, the clause in the three-and-a-half-year contract, signed last February, means any decision would rest with the player should Wigan offer that sum.

Tottenham, frustrated in their attempts to prise Stewart Downing from Middlesbrough, are believed to have expressed tentative interest in Hunt, who was on Sunderland’s radar while Roy Keane was in charge, but Wigan are favourites to sign the Waterford man.

Bruce has deployed Ryan Taylor, who has been plagued by injury during his time at Wigan, on the left flank in recent weeks, but he believes Hunt would be a valuable addition in that area.

West Bromwich Albion have completed their second loan signing of the transfer window, as the Nancy striker Marc-Antoine Fortune joined the Premier League’s bottom club until the end of the season.

Having already signed the promising Arsenal forward Jay Simpson, on loan, manager Tony Mowbray does not anticipate bringing in another attack-minded player and conceded defeat in his attempts to sign the Benfica striker Ariza Makukula.

With no funds for permanent additions, Albion’s financial position is the antithesis of Manchester City’s and Mowbray expressed reservations about the world’s richest club potentially signing Kaka from Milan.

The Albion manager feels opportunities for young English players could be restricted at City and believes the idea of a footballer earning such huge sums will sit uncomfortably with some supporters.

“It’s incredible to think that City could spend £100 million on a footballer and give him £250,000 a week,” he said, though the wage on offer is in fact double that.

“But I was reading something saying (City’s owners) make £1 million an hour, so why would they worry about giving someone £250,000 a week? It doesn’t matter to them, does it?

“But it does matter to the infrastructure of football and where it’s going. I think the bigger picture is that it alienates football from the supporters.

“I think the worst case scenario is that the fans become disenchanted with the game.”

• Guardian Service