Wigan capture Celtic star Caldwell

Wigan have signed Scotland defender Gary Caldwell from Celtic on a four-and-a-half year deal, the Premier League club announced.

Caldwell, 27, had been expected to be reunited with former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan at Championship (second division) club Middlesbrough after falling out with the Glasgow club over the terms of a new contract.

But he has opted instead for Wigan’s offer of Premier League football and a long-term contract that will reportedly double the salary he was on at the Scottish giants.

Caldwell, who can also operate as a defensive midfielder, is Wigan manager Roberto Martinez’s third signing this month, following the capture of former Ivory Coast international Steven Gohouri and Serbian goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic.

“Gary is a leader and exactly the right character we need at the club,” said Martinez. “He is a winner and will become a huge asset for Wigan. He is a commanding defender who will lead by example on and off the pitch.”

Caldwell, who has 36 caps for Scotland, won two league titles in his three-and-a-half-year spell at Celtic and was named as the Scottish Premier League’s player of the year for 2009.

He had insisted that he wanted to stay at Celtic but became increasingly disillusioned over the club’s reluctance to offer him a new contract that would have put him on a par with the best-paid players at Parkhead.

Gohouri, 28, has signed until the end of the season after being released by Borussia Moenchengladbach last month, and is hoping that playing in England will help him regain his place in his national squad in time for the World Cup in June and July.

“It’s a big challenge for me overall coming to the Premier League, but as a footballer I’ve always wanted to play in this country,” Gohouri said.

“All the strikers in the league are big players and every week will be a new test and I’m looking forward to that. There are big differences between the Premier League and the Bundesliga, notably the intensity.

“In England that level is much higher and there are many more one-on-one incidents during the game, so I know it will be very hard but I’m here now and I’ll have to work hard and challenge for a place in the team.”

Martinez added: “He’s a powerful defender with plenty of pace and we all hope that he’s going to reach match fitness really soon, because he’s not had that recently.

“As a player he’s going to give us a different outlook and he’ll be a great asset to have in the squad. He’s got great experience, international pedigree and is desperate to get into the Ivory Coast squad for this summer’s World Cup.”