Deadline Day: Wigan re-sign Scharner on loan from Hamburg

Roberto Martinez has confirmed that Paul  Scharner has re-joined Wigan on loan until the end of the season from Hamburg.

The 32-year-old Austrian international, who can play in both defence and midfield played for the Latics from 2006-2010, will remain at the DW Stadium until the end of the season.

Manager Roberto Martinez has been looking for a defender to replace the injured Ivan Ramis and the Wigan official website has indicated Scharner has been brought in to play at centre-back.

“His experience will be a huge asset going into the last third of the campaign and he knows our football club inside out the same way that we know Paul and his professionalism down to detail,” read a statement on www.wiganlatics.co.uk.

“He is ready for the challenge and to help the team in an area where we have suffered a few injuries and we are slightly light in numbers especially at this moment of the season, facing the vital moments of two competitions.”

Scharner said: “It really is fantastic to be back. Wigan will always have a big place in my heart, so to be asked to come back and help the team now is something really special for me.”

Only Emmerson Boyce (182) and Maynor Figueroa (169) have played more Premier League games for Wigan than Scharner, who has 145 appearances to his name.

Having signed from Brann in Norway in January 2005, Scharner left Wigan to join West Brom in 2010 before joining Hamburg two years later.

Scharner left Wigan for West Brom on a  free transfer in 2010. He stayed with the Baggies for two years before joining Hamburg last summer.