Wigan Athletic have accepted a £2.5 million bid from Rangers for midfielder Lee McCulloch.

Gers boss Walter Smith is a big fan of the 29 year-old Scotland international and has agreed to splash out £2.5million for his services, more than three times the bid of £750,000 he lodged in January, according to the Manchester Evening News.

The former Motherwell man moved south in 2001 for a then-club record fee of £700,000.

Although he mainly played up front at Fir Park, McCulloch established himself as a midfielder for the Lancashire outfit and was a key player in their rise to the top flight from the third tier of English football.

Latics boss Chris Hutchings is loathe to lose McCulloch, but now realises the player has his heart set on playing for the team he supported as a youngster.