Former Arsenal, Man City defender Kolo Toure appointed Wigan Athletic manager

Kolo Toure, a former defender for Manchester City and Arsenal, has been named as Wigan Athletic’s new manager on a three-and-a-half-year deal, the struggling Championship club said on Tuesday.

Between 2002 and 2016, Toure made 353 Premier League appearances for Arsenal, City, and Liverpool. Under Brendan Rodgers, Toure previously worked in the coaching staffs at Celtic and Leicester City.

Leam Richardson, a former Ivory Coast international who was fired earlier this month after the second-tier side fell into the relegation zone following a run of six losses in seven games, is replaced by the 41-year-old.

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Malachy Brannigan, the club’s chief executive, stated in a statement, “We are delighted that Kolo has been appointed the next manager of Wigan Athletic Football Club, and the board are satisfied that he is the man to take us forward.”

“We conducted a very thorough recruitment procedure to find the best candidate for the manager’s position and received a high caliber of applications in recent weeks.

Kolo’s excitement, knowledge, and intense desire to work with and support Wigan Athletic shone through the entire process, and it was clear to us from the first meetings we had with him that he had instantly bought into the club’s principles.

Before being demoted in 2013, the same year it won the FA Cup, Wigan played in the Premier League for eight seasons.

It is now in 22nd place in the Championship after 21 games despite having a difficult season. On December 10, it will travel to face Millwall.