Sunderland close in on Bruce

Sunderland are hoping to confirm the appointment of Steve Bruce as manager within the next 48 hours after agreeing to meet Wigan's demands for compensation.

Club officials have been in talks with the Latics boss in Portugal, where he is on holiday, having offered an acceptable sum to release him from his contract at the JJB Stadium.

Personal terms are not likely to be a stumbling block in the negotiations and the 48-year-old Bruce, born just outside Newcastle, could be unveiled at the Stadium of Light later this week.

The one major hurdle was overcome when Wigan chairman Dave Whelan accepted the Black Cats' offer of compensation.

Whelan was determined not to allow Bruce to walk away on the cheap, having paid Birmingham £3million in order to secure his services in November 2007.

And although the fee is not believed to have matched Whelan's valuation it was enough for him not to stand in Bruce's way of a return to his native north east - albeit Wearside and not Tyneside, where he previously turned town the manager's job.

A compromise was reached as both clubs were looking for a swift conclusion to negotiations with pre-season training due to start in just over a month.

Bruce will take over at the Stadium of Light at the best possible time after American businessman Ellis Short assumed total control last week.

The former Birmingham and Crystal Palace manager is likely to have access to a substantial transfer fund but Short expects a return on his money.

Sunderland escaped relegation by only two points last month but the new owner has already targeted a top-10 finish.

That will present a new challenge for Bruce, whose one-and-a-half campaigns at Wigan - and previous top-flight seasons with Birmingham - were primarily about guaranteeing survival.

Since leaving Birmingham, where he had grown frustrated by off-field issues, Bruce's stock has risen considerably.

He steered Wigan to safety in 2008 despite having only six months to get them out of the relegation mire and then took them to 11th in the Barclays Premier League this season.

That was their second-highest top-flight finish and was all achieved with a limited budget and the departure of his best players.

Bruce felt they could have qualified for Europe for the first time in the club's history had he not had to sell midfielder Wilson Palacios and Emile Heskey to Tottenham and Aston Villa respectively in January.

But for a club of Wigan's stature £14m for a player who had cost £1m 12 months earlier and £3.5m for a 31-year-old striker with less than six months left on his contract represented good business.

With the finances of Short backing the Black Cats he is unlikely to be put in that position at the Stadium of Light and may even try to sign some of the players that served him so well at Wigan.

The Latics, meanwhile, have been linked with Swansea boss Roberto Martinez - whom Celtic have already made an enquiry about - Peterborough's Darren Ferguson and former manager Paul Jewell.