Tottenham complete£12m deal to sign Palacios-with Cudicini set to follow

21 January 2009 19:30
Earning his Spurs: Wilson Palacios (left) is swapping his Wigan shirt for the white of Tottenham The 24-year-old midfielder made 41 appearances for Wigan after joining the club for£1m last January. Palacios is cup-tied for Saturday's FA Cup 4th round tie at Manchester United, but should be available for Tuesday's crunch Premier League game against Stoke at White Hart Lane.   More... Tottenham boss Redknapp targets£7m Inter defender Nicolas Burdisso VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Learn to be a Spurs star with Harry and Jamie Redknapp's football skills masterclass TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET WIGAN ATHLETIC FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea keeper Cudicini moves across town to Spurs in£1million deal Sportsmail understands that the fee with Wigan will be paid over two years after a request to spread the payments over four years was rejected. Palacios had been reluctant to move south but was swayed when Spurs offered to quadruple the£7,000-a-week wages he was receiving at the JJB Stadium. Tricky position: Wigan boss Steve Bruce wants to improve his squad Bruce feels Palacios has the ability to become one of the best midfielders in the Barclays Premier League, and did all he could to persuade the Central American to stay. 'The club-record transfer fee will be smashed if the deal goes through, but that was never mine or the club's motivation here,' said the Wigan manager. 'The club is not in the business of trying to make a profit on players. I want to build a winning team here and keep my best players together. 'We did everything we could as a club to keep Wilson. We sat down with him last week and offered him a very good new deal, and tried to convince him his interests were best served by staying here at Wigan Athletic. 'However, I'm a big believer in not standing in the way of players' careers, as long as the terms are right for our club and I wish him all the best. 'He has served the club well in his short time with us and has been a credit to both himself and the club. 'It is no wonder we have some big clubs enquiring about our players because they have done very well this season.' Bruce is hoping to finalise a deal for Colombia striker Hugo Rodallega later this week. 'I always said that my biggest challenge this month was to keep the squad together, whilst trying to add to it at the same time,' Bruce continued. Carlo Cudicini: Heading to Tottenham after nearly 10 years at Chelsea. 'There are always tough decisions to make, but it's my job to make what I see as the right choices for the long-term good of Wigan.' A Spurs statement said: 'We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement for the transfer of Wilson Palacios from Wigan Athletic.' Cudicini, 35, will arrive after 10 years at Chelsea as Spurs boss Harry Redknapp seeks to put pressure on Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes. Gomes has been playing through injury and Cesar Sanchez, who is deemed sub-standard, has been allowed to join Valencia until the end of the season.   More... Tottenham boss Redknapp targets£7m Inter defender Nicolas Burdisso VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Learn to be a Spurs star with Harry and Jamie Redknapp's football skills masterclass TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET WIGAN ATHLETIC FC NEWS FROM ACROSS THE NET EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea keeper Cudicini moves across town to Spurs in£1million deal  

Source: Daily_Mail