Rangers must cough up £2.5 million for Wigan Athletic midfielder Lee McCulloch.

It had been suggested a deal between McCulloch and former JJB Stadium gaffer Paul Jewell had been brokered to allow him to quit after Premiership survival was secured.

However, with McCulloch's current contract running until 2009, a Wigan spokesman said: "No such agreement exists between McCulloch and Wigan.

"Lee went in to see Chris Hutchings half an hour after he was appointed manager the morning after our last day survival in the Premiership. Details of that conversation will remain confidential, but the bottom line is we expect Lee to be our player next season.

"Lee has two years left on the new, improved contract he signed last July and he is due here for pre-season training on June 28."