Soccer:Wigan have confirmed the signing of striker Conor Sammon on a three-and-a-half-year deal from Kilmarnock.

The 24-year-old has scored 24 goals in 64 Scottish Premier League appearances for Killie, including 15 in 20 starts this season to help the club to fourth place in the Scottish top flight.

Sammon became Latics boss Roberto Martinez’s first permanent signing of the transfer window in a deal completed just minutes before the 11pm deadline.

“Conor is a young, hungry player we have been looking at for a while,” Martinez told Wigan’s official website.

“He has developed in an incredible manner over the last six months and it’s fortunate that we’ve been able to move for him before he has achieved his full potential, which we’re hoping he will do in a Latics shirt. We are delighted to welcome him on board.”

Dublin-born Sammon, whose arrival on an undisclosed fee has come too late to see him feature in the squad to face West Brom in the Premier League tonight night, admitted it had been a wrench to leave Killie.

“It was a big decision to leave a club that has been so good for my career but I’m a Wigan Athletic player now and I want to prove to everyone here they’ve made the right choice, and prove myself in the Premier League,” said the former Republic of Ireland under-21 international, who will wear the number 18 shirt at the DW Stadium.

Martinez added that the arrival of Sammon concludes a satisfactory month in the transfer market.

“Our main priority was to finish January stronger than when the window started,” he said. “We’ve achieved that by keeping our best performers, who attracted well deserved attention within the game and we’ve got real satisfaction to be able to retain the services of Tom Cleverley and Ali Al Habsi until the end of the season, which is a major positive for us.

“The return of James McCarthy, Franco Di Santo, Victor Moses and Emmerson Boyce after long-term absences all feel like fresh signings into the squad. The fans can be proud and excited about the challenge ahead.”