Championship transfer news: Wigan Athletic eye ex-Sunderland target in potential blow to Lee Johnson

Championship strugglers Wigan Athletic are said to be interested in both players after the club’s sacking of manager Kolo Toure. The Latics also missed out on ex-academy attacker Joe Gelhardt, with the Leeds United forward opting to join Sunderland instead.

Shaun Maloney is leading Wigan Atgletic’s attempt to avoid relegation back to League One following the sacking of one-time Celtic defender Toure after he failed to win any of his nine games in charge.

The Scottish Sun have stated that Wigan Athletic’s offer for the pair the offer falls well below the valuation the Hibees have put on the pair.

Ex-Sunderland manager and current Hibs gaffer Lee Johnson is said to be braced for a second deadline day swoop as the Latics weigh up their next move. Nisbet, who was linked with the Black Cats at one point recently turned down a move to Millwall just last weeks after the clubs agreed a reported £2.4million deal.

Speaking about Nisbet at the weekend, Johnson said: "When Kevin gets the bit between his teeth in anything, he's got that ability and self-belief to be able to focus intently on what he wants.

"He rang me up on Friday and said, 'I'm coming back and I want to start' but I told him we'd been working without him all week, he hadn't kicked a ball, but I'd get him on, and obviously we have another game on Tuesday.”

On his immediate future, he added: "I believe he'll be here beyond Tuesday. There's nothing else bubbling away as far as I'm aware and I think he'll be here at least until the summer.

"He hasn't spoken to me a lot, because we've been raptly focused on the Aberdeen game. He was even late for the match because of the traffic from Glasgow but I spoke to him very briefly to say, 'welcome back, I'm personally delighted you haven't gone,' and to articulate why he was going to come on from the bench and not start.”