Richard O’Donnell

Richard O’Donnell says ‘the Premier League feel’ at Wigan Athletic is what convinced him to leave Walsall for the DW Stadium.

Keeper O’Donnell has signed a three-year deal with the Latics after Gary Caldwell’s side won the race to capture the out-of-contract Saddlers stopper on a free transfer.

Wigan spent 2005-2013 in the Premier League and famously won the FA Cup just two years ago, beating Manchester City in the final – the same season the Latics were relegated from the top flight.

And while the Latics will start next season in League One alongside Walsall after two relegations in three years, O’Donnell says there is still a top-flight feel to the club.

He said: “I’m ambitious and I felt like this is the club in the league with the best chance for me to go and get promoted with.

“I honestly believe that and it was only a few years ago that they were winning the FA Cup and were in the Premier League.

“Going to the ground yesterday, there’s still a ‘Prem’ feel about it and they are still trying to do things in that way.

“That was another factor in why I wanted to go there because they are a massive club in League One.

“I think it’s a good match and I think it’s the best move I could have got to move forward and it’s the best chance I’ve got to get to the Championship.”

Several League One clubs were in for the free agent with Doncaster Rovers boss Paul Dickov publicly registering his interest earlier this week.

Bradford City were also confident of securing his signature as recently as last week, while another team relegated from the Championship, Millwall, were believed to have made enquiries too.

O’Donnell also turned down offers from Championship clubs, where he would likely have been number two, to join Wigan, where he hopes to snaffle the number one jersey.

Veteran keeper Ali Al-Habsi has left the club, and sources close to Wigan believe last season’s number one, Scott Carson, will clinch a move back to the Championship or abroad this summer.

That would leave O’Donnell to battle it out for the starting spot with highly-rated young Latics keeper Lee Nicholls but the award of a three-year deal suggests Wigan expect O’D to be number one.

He added: “It would have been a risk for me to go into the Championship as I could have ended up not playing and that isn’t what I wanted to do.

“It’s a really big club and I think it’s a step forward in my career. And signing for three years is a good bit of security for me and my family.

“I spoke to quite a few clubs in all honesty. I spoke to clubs that I felt interested in and I have said ‘no’ to a fair few clubs in recent weeks as well.

“There were a few who were interested but as soon as I found out about Wigan I spoke to the manager, he sold the club to me and they were the ones I wanted to go for.

“I sat down with him and (goalkeeping coach) Mike Pollitt and they really sold it to me, what they want to do going forward and it was something that I felt I wanted to be a part of.”