Steve Bruce will have about £50 million to spend when he takes over as manager at Sunderland today.

Bruce’s appointment was inevitable from the moment that agreement was reached with Wigan Athletic over compensation. He was always the first choice of Niall Quinn, the Sunderland chairman. The 48-year-old, who will be announced officially as manager today at the Stadium of Light after agreeing personal terms last night, can look forward to a healthy transfer budget, but during his 11 years in management that has rarely been the case.

He did invest £6.5 million in Emile Heskey while at Birmingham City, but funds were scarce at Sheffield United and Huddersfield Town, two of his previous clubs, and during his brief first spell with Wigan.

At least five new players will be brought to the Stadium of Light this summer, with Titus Bramble, the Wigan defender, a possible target, and Bruce is expected to ensure that Kenwyne Jones and Kieran Richardson stay at the club.

Bruce will be joined by Eric Black, his assistant at Wigan, along with Nigel Spink, the goalkeeping coach, and Keith Bertschin, the reserve-team coach and former Sunderland player.

Wigan will renew their search for a new manager after refusing to meet Swansea City’s “ridiculous” demand of £4 million compensation for Roberto Martínez. The former Wigan player was Dave Whelan’s first choice to succeed Bruce at the JJB Stadium, but the Wigan chairman may now turn his attention to Darren Ferguson, the Peterborough United manager.

Wigan’s interest in Martínez, who has four years left on his contract at Swansea, has not ended, but an agreement would probably depend on the Spaniard persuading the Coca-Cola Championship club to lower their fee. “He \ was our No 1 target, but we are not interested at that level,” a Wigan source said. “We will now have to look at the names on our list.”

Whelan is keeping his options open, but he favours the appointment of a promising young manager, such as Martínez or Ferguson, who can build on the good work done by Bruce. A close friend of Sir Alex Ferguson, Whelan has been impressed by the achievements of the Manchester United’s manager son at Peterborough, whom he has led to successive promotions.

Ferguson Jr, 37, is thought to have a release clause in his contract, but, while Peterborough would demand at least £1 million in compensation in the event Wigan made an approach, that is still a palatable figure for Whelan. Paul Jewell, the former Wigan and Derby County manager, is thought to be another name under consideration.

Tugay Kerimoglu, the former Blackburn Rovers midfield player, has said that he will be joining the coaching staff at Manchester City next season. The 38-year-old, who worked under Mark Hughes when the City manager was in charge at Ewood Park, said: “This will be a huge step for me.”