Bolton Wanderers are leading the chase sign Portsmouth midfielder Gareth Evans, as per The News.

The 32-year-old is set to depart Fratton Park after five years and it's Ian Evatt's Bolton that are looking to snap up the player.

The arrival of Michael Jacobs has meant that Evans now finds himself lower down the pecking order, despite being involved in the club's first three matches of the 2020/21 campaign.

It's thought that Evans wants to be nearer his family in Manchester thus meaning a switch to Bolton looks inevitable.

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Evans has become a fan favourite ever since his arrival at Pompey though has found starting berths hit and miss under the tutelage of Kenny Jackett, with him making only 10 league starts last season as Pompey missed out on promotion to the Championship via the play-offs last term.

The Macclesfield-born attacking midfielder began his career ay Crewe Alexandra before being part of the Manchester United youth setup for seven years.

Evans then enjoyed stints at Macclesfield, Bradford City, Rotherham, Fleetwood Town and then Portsmouth where he has been since 2015.

The verdict

Evans will offer a reliable, experienced body to Ian Evatt's youthful looking Bolton Wanderers team.

For all parties this makes sense. His game-time at Portsmouth has been depleting season on season and with Jacobs now arriving at Pompey, his first-team opportunities have diminished further.

Evans still has several seasons of EFL football in him and this could be a really useful addition for Bolton, as he's a player who knows what it takes to achieve promotion from League Two, having gained promotion with Pompey back in 2017.