Bruce went back to former club Birmingham to capture Kapo for an initial £2.5million, rising to £3.25million, after a late hitch to the transfer was resolved.

It was Bruce who brought the 27-year-old to the Premier League in a £3million move from Juventus last summer during his time as manager at St Andrews.

Kapo signed a three-year deal after completing a medical on Tuesday and will join up with his new team-mates for their pre-season training camp in Austria.

He follows Daniel de Ridder in moving from Birmingham to the JJB Stadium this summer.

Kapo said: "It's fantastic to be signing for a club like Wigan. As soon as I spoke with Steve and he told me his plans for the next few years, I wanted to come.

"Steve is a fantastic manager and this club is going places. I really want to be playing for them now."

Kapo's move came after an eventful few weeks during which reports suggested the deal could be scuppered by arguments over cash.

The Ivory Coast-born player found himself in trouble when he missed the first day of pre-season training to undergo an operation on his wrist in France.

But Kapo, who has been capped nine times by his country, can put all that behind him as he prepares for the latest phase of a career which began at Auxerre.

His form there won him a move to Italian giants Juventus, although he was loaned out to both French side Monaco and Spain's Levante before Bruce brought him to England.

He made 26 appearances for Birmingham last season, scoring five times, including a double against his new employers in a 3-2 victory at St Andrews on October 27.

Bruce was delighted to have secured his services once again.

He said: "Yes, he's one I really wanted to get on board.

"Olivier's a real fighter, but he has a touch of quality about him.

"He can play in a number of positions and having worked with him in the past, I know what a good addition to our squad he will be.

"He has Premier League experience, which is important, and I'm confident he will do well here."