Wigan Athletic have swooped to sign England under 21 international Lee Cattermole from Middlesbrough for £3.5m. The tall stocky midfielder is a local lad who rose through the youth ranks at boro and is obviously sad to wave his hometown goodbye:

“I’m sad to be leaving my home-town club in many ways and I want to thank all the supporters and the club for everything they have done for me over the years. I just think the time is right for a new challenge and I see working with Steve Bruce here at Wigan as a fantastic opportunity because this is a team really going places.”

Indeed it seems Bruce’s high opinion of the player persuaded him to leave his roots behind and try pastures new:

“He’s got everything going for him, he’s young, he’s courageous, he’s a tireless worker and I think he can have a great career in football, hopefully for this club. He only turned 20 in April, and already he has played nearly 70 games in the Premier League, as well as in the Uefa Cup. That’s exceptional. He can be a great leader of the future.”

Cattermole has signed on a 3 year deal which will keep him at the JJB untill he is 23.

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