Despite having a strong season last year, after narrowly missing out on the play-offs, Ian Evatt has been keen to add to his Bolton Wanderers side in preparation for the new season.

Eoin Toal of Derry City is someone who has caught the manager's eye and the Whites made an initial bid for the defender last week but saw their offer rejected.

It was reported by The Bolton News that the club would continue in their pursuit of the 23-year-old by sending out representatives of the club to Ireland to discuss a potential deal.

However, as it stands there has been no further movement on the initial offer although Derry City's manager Ruaidhri Higgins expects this will not be the end of it as he told the Derry Journal: "At the minute  in time I don't know if Bolton have made another offer.

"We all know that their first offer was rejected and at the minute I don't think they have made an improved offer, but that may change as the week progresses."

Higgins' side are preparing for a trip to Lativa this week to play in the Europa Conference League so their minds are firmly set on that game but there could be another move from Bolton very soon and the boss knows this is a real possibility as he said: "Eoin Toal has been an absolutely brilliant servant for this club and he's only 23. He has played a lot of games and I can only speak since I have been here, but he has been fantastic.

"If he does leave then it would be a huge loss, but as we sit here now, there's nothing confirmed or agreed or anything like that.

"We will need to replace him or we'll need to adapt or play a different system, I don't know, because nothing has happened since last week's bid was rejected."

The Verdict: 

Toal would be a great addition to Ian Evatt's side and it wouldn't be a surprise to see an improved offer on the table by the end of the week.

Given the 23-year-old is out of contract with his current club in November, this is a great chance for them to bring some money into the club that could help them find a suitable replacement for their defender.

With the Europa Conference League game over their heads, Derry City are focusing on that first and foremost right now.

However, with representatives said to be going across, they will be keen to leave Ireland with a deal for the young player in place.