THIRD Division Wigan Athletic have beaten Burnley to the signature of Barnsley defender Charlie Bishop.

The Springfield Park outfit sealed the £40,000 deal last night - half the price Burnley had agreed with Barnsley last month.

Bishop, of course, was all set to move to Turf Moor after an impressive loan spell helped the Clarets to avoid relegation in the final six weeks of last season.

But his wage demands proved too high for Burnley and now Wigan - backed by Dave Whelan's JJB Sports empire - have landed their man.

"We faced very tough competition from Burnley and Carlisle and I am delighted to welcome him on board at Wigan," said Latics boss John Deehan.

Meanwhile, there was another body blow for Heath today when his ambitious bid to land a Portugal Under-21 striker hit an unexpected snag.

But the Turf Moor chief is still confident he can land his continental target before the start of pre-season training on July 8.

Heath held a marathon four-hour meeting with the player and officials of the Portuguese First Division club yesterday when he had hoped to finalise a deal for the giant centre-forward.

But, after transfer discussions, the Portuguese party tried to hike up the transfer fee at the last minute. That has left the deal on ice with Heath expected to have further talks with the Portuguese first division club on Monday - if the two clubs can agree on some common ground.

"The deal is far from dead although we've hit a bit of a problem over the payment," explained Heath.

"His club wanted more than we had first agreed and I wasn't having of any of that. I won't be railroaded into paying more than I think a player is worth.

"Everybody in Europe is under the illusion that English football is dripping in money. That is not the case further down the leagues.

"The player was very disappointed that the deal did not go through because he is desperate to play in England and to join Burnley. I am still hopeful that we can get something sorted out."

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