A club source told the Mail that the board is set to repel a £10m bid from Spurs.

The source added: "Wigan's Barclays Premier League survival would hinge on Heskey remaining part of Steve Bruce's squad and that Wigan simply could not afford to lose their man."

Tottenham put their sights on Heskey to replace outcast Dimitar Berbatov, who has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United.

Spurs boss Juande Ramos has announced that he must get a good striker to let the Bulgarian talisman move away.