Manager Steve Bruce has stressed he wants to keep his squad intact and remains hopeful the England international will sign a new deal.

It now seems unlikely the 31-year-old will leave this month.

“I think Emile has been fantastic for us,” said Spencer.

“When we bought him from Birmingham people thought we were mad but he has been an absolute gem for us and has done well for himself.

“He is a fantastic pro and we would be sorry to lose him in the summer if he goes.

“But he is enjoying his time at Wigan and has told us he was staying with us until the summer, (that) he was seeing out his contract.

“He is 31 so if he gets his final move we would wish him all the best. It (the relationship) has worked both ways with loyalty on both sides.”

Chairman Dave Whelan said he wanted Heskey to sign a new one-year contract but negotiations had yet to begin.

“To be honest, we have not started to discuss anything with Emile,” he told Sky Sports News.

“But we said to him we’d like him to sign for another year.”

One player who is on his way out is Kevin Kilbane. The midfielder, whose contract expires in the summer, is in talks with Hull and a deal is expected to be concluded by the end of the week.

Winger Antonio Valencia is again being linked with Real Madrid, who are reported to be ready to offer £15m plus Argentinian striker Javier Saviola.

Midfielder Ryan Taylor is also attracting the interest of Lancashire rivals Bolton and Blackburn while Tottenham are the latest club reported to be keeping tabs on Wilson Palacios.

However, Bruce and Spencer are adamant they do not want to sell any of their players, and if they do it will only be for big money.

“If anyone comes in with an offer for any of our players they’d better make sure they have a big fat one,” said Bruce.

Spencer added on Latics World: “We will be fighting tooth and nail to keep all our players here.

“If someone comes in and wants a player badly enough and offers enough money and the player wants to go we have to consider it.”