Paul Jewell is in pole position to become the new manager of Birmingham City after Wigan Athletic made Steve Bruce an offer that he could not refuse. Bruce walked out of St Andrew’s yesterday after Wigan offered to treble his wages to £45,000 a week. Dave Whelan, the Wigan chairman, agreed to pay Birmingham £3 million in compensation after Bruce indicated that he was willing to sign a £2 million-a-year contract over four years at the JJB Stadium.

Whelan has also promised Bruce £15 million to spend on new players when the transfer window opens in January. If Wigan, who are nineteenth in the Barclays Premier League, are relegated at the end of the season, Whelan will have spent £26 million trying to keep them up. “Steve Bruce is the guy we wanted,” Whelan said. “He’s one of the best young managers in the land.”

Bruce’s departure from St Andrew’s after almost six years has been on the cards since last month, when Carson Yeung, the club’s largest single shareholder and prospective new owner, refused to commit to a new rolling contract that would have doubled the manager’s wages to £30,000 a week. Alerted by Bruce’s frustration, Whelan made his move after Jewell turned down the opportunity to return to the JJB Stadium last week.

“Straight away, when Paul Jewell decided he wasn’t going to come back to Wigan, Steve was the man we wanted,” Whelan said. “You would think nothing of paying £3 million for a player, so it’s a very cheap price to pay to have a manager of his quality.”

Time will tell whether Bruce is the right man for the job, but Wigan’s survival prospects are likely to depend on Emile Heskey’s imminent return from injury. Wigan have lost seven consecutive matches in the Premier League since the England forward fractured a metatarsal in the 1-1 home draw with Fulham in September.

Whelan will return from holiday in Barbados today to sign Bruce’s contract before the manager is presented at a press conference at the JJB Stadium tomorrow, but, while Wigan supporters will be delighted that Bruce is returning to the club – he was manager for eight games in 2001 before joining Crystal Palace - Birmingham have been left high and dry.

It emerged last night that Martin Jol, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager, turned down the opportunity to replace Bruce. “We spoke to Martin Jol over the weekend,” David Sullivan, the co-owner, said. “Martin thanked us, but said it was too early to consider coming back into football.”

The board at St Andrew’s has given Yeung until December 20 to complete his £50 million takeover, but many insiders are concerned that the financial proposal by the Hong Kong businessman is close to collapse. The identity of the club’s next manager will depend on the fate of Yeung’s deal.

Eric Black, the assistant manager, is likely to pick the team when Birmingham face Portsmouth at home on Saturday, while Bruce will be in the away dugout at the Emirates Stadium as Wigan take on Arsenal, but Whelan is convinced that he can also persuade Black to join Wigan. Whelan said. “I am confident we will get him, but I understand he has got to stay there for a week or a fortnight.”

That will give Birmingham time to appoint a replacement for Bruce, but it remains to be seen whether they can afford Jewell. Not even Whelan’s “unbelievable offer” could tempt him to return to Wigan last week.