Bolton Wanderers manager Ian Evatt has described reports that striker Eoin Doyle is set to leave the club as "speculation".
Doyle enjoyed a prolific debut campaign with Bolton last season, scoring 19 goals in 43 league games to help the Trotters win an immediate promotion from League Two.
This season however, things have gone rather differently for Doyle, with the striker scoring just four times in 20 League One outings since the start of the campaign.
That, combined with the seemingly imminent arrival of another striker in the shape of Dion Charles from Accrington, has led to some suggestions that Doyle is set to leave Bolton in the January transfer window.
Indeed, some reports have even claimed that the 33-year-old has already agreed a three-year deal with his home town club St Patrick's Athletic in the Republic of Ireland.
Now though, it seems as though any deal is not as close as that, at least as far as Evatt is concerned.
Commenting on those claims of Doyle's potential departure from the club, Evatt told The Bolton News: “It’s just speculation for me. I think when you are linked with strikers, there will be speculation about strikers in your squad – simple as that.”