Wigan Athletic have signed former England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey from Birmingham City for a club record £5.5million (€7.8m).

28-year-old Heskey secured the move to the JJB Stadium on Friday, to Wigan’s join two other recent signings - Fitz Hall from Crystal Palace and Tomasz Cywka from Polish side Gwarek Zabrze at the Premiership side.

“This is a major coup for Wigan Athletic, make no mistake,” said Wigan Athletic manager Paul Jewell to sportnetwork.net. “I have said all along I want to bring real quality performers into this club and Emile fits into that category.

“He is the most high profile signing this club has ever made, but I've not bought him for his reputation, I’ve bought him because I know what he can do on a football field,” continued Jewell, himself a former Liverpool player.

“He's played over 300 Premiership games, he was a mainstay in the Liverpool and England attack for several seasons and has played and scored in both the World Cup and the UEFA Cup.

“We have been monitoring the situation for a long time as regards his availability, and there were naturally several other clubs interested in a player of his quality.

“It speaks volumes about how far we have come as a club that we have beaten established Premiership clubs to net a player of his stature, just as he has reached his prime.

“I can understand Steve Bruce not wanting to sell him because he has been a big player for him and I expect Emile to make a major impact at Wigan, because he has the talent, the drive and the attitude to fit into the team and play a major part in our development. Of that I am totally convinced.”

Jewell continued: “Emile is a big, big signing for us, and I am very confident that we can bring two more players in early next week, hopefully Monday. We will be continuing discussions over the weekend with a view to finalizing everything as soon as we can.

“As a management team, we have spent a very long time analyzing all the areas we can improve the club, and we know exactly who our targets are and the positions we think need the most attention.

“We don't have the biggest squad here at Wigan, and that’s probably the way I like it because the team unit has always been the most important thing here. But we know where we need to strengthen and we will concentrate all our efforts on bringing the five, six or more players we need this Summer.”

“Hopefully, when the two signings are confirmed Monday, that will be five new players signed in three days, including Fitz Hall, Emile Heskey and Tomasz Cywka, and we're still in early July.

“There's a long way to go before the season starts, never mind the transfer window closing, and I am delighted that all the hard work carried out by my staff over the past months is starting to bear fruit.”

Heskey, who scored just 16 goals in his 78 appearances for Birmingham City after his transfer from Liverpool to Birmingham for £6.25 million in 2004, was very happy with the transfer, saying: “I want to play in The Premiership like every player does. What Wigan have achieved over the past few years is nothing short of amazing.

“I've talked to a lot of mates within the game and they have said nothing but good things about the manager and the way the club is run.

“I was very impressed with how Paul Jewell sold the club to me, the ambition there is here and the role he sees for me. I can't wait to get started.”