Sunderland have completed their signing of defender Titus Bramble from Premier League rivals Wigan.

Bramble has signed a three-year deal with the Black Cats after passing a medical test.

The former Newcastle defender has been signed on at the Stadium of Light for an undisclosed fee and will link up again with former Wigan boss Steve Bruce.

Bruce believes Bramble will prove to be a valuable addition to his squad for the new season.

“Titus was absolutely outstanding for me at Wigan,” Bruce told the club’s official website.

“He matured into a very, very good player so there was absolutely no hesitation when the chance came to bring him to Sunderland.

“He was certainly the right player at the right price and this is a great deal for the football club.”

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has made it clear that manager Roberto Martinez will have to sell players before bringing anyone new into the club this summer.

Latics secured their Premier League survival with just 36 points, finishing 16th in the table with just West Ham and the three relegated teams beneath them.

They suffered some heavy defeats during the season – going down 9-1 to Tottenham and 8-0 to champions Chelsea on the final day of the Premier League campaign – and will need to strengthen to avoid another relegation scrap next term.

Finances appear to be tight throughout the football world at present and Whelan says things are no different at the DW Stadium.

“First of all we have to decide who is going out before we can decide who is coming in,” he told the Wigan Reporter. “But Roberto has to accept – like every other manager in the Premier League – that there has to be a limit on what they can do.”

Paul Scharner is one player who will definitely be leaving in the summer because he will fall out of contract while club captain Mario Melchiot could also be on his way out after his contract expires in the next few weeks.

Whelan has warned against the club following the likes of Portsmouth and Hull who have revealed serious debt problems during the season with Pompey falling into administration.

The chairman is set to sit down with Martinez during the week and discuss possible comings and goings at the North-West outfit.

Wigan boss Roberto Martinez has stolen a march on West Brom by taking Hamilton midfielder James McArthur on trial.

Martinez raided the SPL outfit for James McCarthy last summer and he is in pole position for another swoop for one of their rising stars.

The Spaniard revealed: “James McArthur is another player that we have been following for a long time.

“He is a great talent. What he has achieved at Hamilton in the SPL is remarkable.”

McArthur, 22, is valued at around £2m and it remains to be seen if the Baggies will try to hijack any deal should the Hawthorns outfit win promotion back to the Premier League for next season.

Roberto Martinez believes Wigan’s 0-0 draw with Bolton on Wednesday evening could turn out to be a crucial point for his men.

Wigan have moved up to 14th in the Premier League following the goalless draw, but have not won since January 16 and are still just two points outside the relegation zone.

Both sides managed to cancel each other out at the DW Stadium and Martinez was pleased to have avoided another defeat, despite failing again to register a goal – they have scored just twice in their last five games.

The Spaniard said: “It is a very good point. Every point now is important. I am looking at the performance and all the ingredients you need to be a good side are there – effort, discipline, concentration.

“I felt at times we looked a threat in the last third but at times lacked a bit of composure.”

Wigan are back in action on Sunday, when they entertain Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham at the DW Stadium.

Paul Scharner has told his Wigan team-mates that they can’t keep losing leads in matches or they will end up in the end-of-season relegation battle.

For the second time in the space of three days, Latics lost a lead and had to settle for a point after a 1-1 draw with Stoke at the DW Stadium on Tuesday night.

The midweek result means there has been seven matches this season that Roberto Martinez’s side have failed to win after scoring the first goal – with the latest result leaving Wigan in 16th, just one point outside the relegation zone.

Wigan’s inability to hold on is putting the club’s top-flight status in jeopardy, according to Austrian international Scharner.

The midfielder admitted: “We’re in the middle of a relegation battle, and in these types of games we should be looking to come away with all three points.

“It’s in the second half where our problems lie – we can’t seem to sustain the performance over 90 minutes. We have to keep our opponents under pressure for the whole game, and I think that should be our focus now for the rest of the season.”

Wigan’s next Premier League game is crunch-clash with local rivals Bolton at the DW Stadium on Wednesday February 17, followed by a home game against Tottenham next Sunday.

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has denied speculation that the Latics are planning to sell the likes of Hugo Rodallega, Charles N’Zogbia and Maynor Figueroa in the January transfer window.

Reports had indicated that Wigan are preparing to offload some of their star names in order to finance some of the debts at the club.

The likes of Birmingham and Stoke have been linked with a move for Rodallega and N’Zogbia while Sunderland were rumoured to be on the verge of signing Figueroa.

While Whelan has ruled out selling any of his big stars now he did indicate that some of them may leave at the end of the season but only if they join a top six side.

“We don’t want to sell Hugo, full stop, but we are Wigan and have to be sensible,” said Whelan. “But there is no chance of selling Hugo in the window. We are selling no-one in the window.

“Those kind of players are the difference between staying up and getting relegated. You’ve got to score goals to stay up.

“We have got quality players, who will go to top six teams, but not until the end of the season.

“We are Wigan, we have to buy and sell players, and you can’t stop a lad going up to the top level, the top six teams, and I would never do that.

“Two or three of our lads will go to big clubs and I never stand in their way.”

Roberto Martinez has said new goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic from Sporting Lisbon will bring “character” and “determination” to his Wigan squad.

The 26-year-old has joined Latics until the end of the season and will go straight into the squad for the Premier League game against top-four hopefuls Aston Villa on Saturday.

The Serbia international says he is excited at the prospect of playing in England and providing competition for number one Chris Kirkland.

“Everyone knows about the quality of the English Premier League,” said Stojkovic. “So to get a chance like this is a fantastic opportunity for me.”

He added: “It is going to be very tough because I know the quality of the goalkeepers already here but every professional trains to play first-team football.

“I am looking forward to the challenge of getting in the team and fighting for a place.”

DW Stadium boss Martinez added: “He will add tremendous competition for places in the goalkeeping department – something which we need everywhere on the pitch.”

Monday’s Premier League match between Wigan and Bolton has been called off because the freezing weather has made the areas around the DW Stadium unsafe.

However, Wigan stressed that their pitch is perfectly playable.

But the police and Wigan’s safety team concluded that conditions outside the stadium are too treacherous for those supporters planning to attend the game.

Severe weather warnings have been issued and the public advised to make only essential journeys.

In a statement on their website, Wigan said: “The club wishes to apologise to all its supporters, and the supporters of Bolton, but their safety is of paramount importance.”

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan suggested former manager Steve Bruce should shoulder some of the blame for the 9-1 hammering by Tottenham on Sunday.

Whelan sprung to the defence of Roberto Martinez in the wake of the White Hart Lane mauling and insisted Latics would bounce back from their darkest day since their return to the Premier League when they face, ironically, Bruce’s Sunderland on Saturday.

“He is Wigan’s manager and I have complete faith in him and I know the supporters have,” said Whelan.

The DW Stadium boss aimed a veiled swipe at Bruce and suggested Martinez had inherited “those dodgy signings” before he left for Premier League rivals Sunderland.

“He has got a difficult time, he inherited a team that was a little bit weak on reserves when Steve [Bruce] left,” added Whelan.

“Steve actually had a few dodgy signings just before he left Wigan and he has inherited those dodgy signings so I can’t blame Roberto one iota.

“I am absolutely 100 per cent behind Roberto, he’s a great manager and he will pull this team around.”

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez admitted a knee ligament injury picked up by defender Maynor Figueroa during the 3-1 win at Burnley on Saturday “doesn’t look too good”.

Figueroa only managed 28 minutes at Turf Moor before he was replaced and Martinez admitted he could be facing a long lay-off.

Paul Scharner also needed 10 stitches in a facial wound he picked up creating Latics’ third goal for Emmerson Boyce.

“Maynor has a grade two medial ligament problem in his left knee,” Martinez told the Wigan Evening Post.

“We will assess it further to see how bad he is, but it doesn’t look too good.”