Craig Noone is set to become the latest player to leave Bolton Wanderers in the summer transfer window, with the midfielder set for a move to Australian side Melbourne City on a free transfer, Sun journalist Alan Nixon has reported.

Noone has made 65 appearances in all competitions for Bolton since joining from Cardiff City in the summer of 2017, scoring twice.

The midfielder however is out of contract at The University of Bolton Stadium in the summer, and now appears to be set for a move to the other side of the world.

Formed as Melbourne Heart in June 2009, the club were taken over by the City Football Group - whose flagship club are English Champions Manchester City - in January 2014, leading to it being rebranded as Melbourne City.

The club finished fifth in last season's A-League, before being knocked out by Adelaide United at the first stage of the finals series which decide the league's overall champion.

Noone will not be the first player to leave Bolton since the end of the season. Sammy Ameobi and Pawel Olkowski both handed in their notices at the club over unpaid wages owed to the squad, while Mark Beevers; Mark Little and Joe Pritchard have all left for Peterborough; Bristol Rovers and Accrington Stanley respectively. Winger Josh Vela meanwhile has also confirmed he will leave the club following the expiration of his contract.

The verdict

This is yet another blow for Bolton.

With an already long list of players leaving the club, the challenge of overcoming their 12 point deduction to stay in League One next seems to be getting even more difficult.

It will be a big rebuild of the squad if they are to put themselves in a position to do that, and even then they will not have much time to gel together before the season begins at the start of August.