Bolton Wanderers have 'interest' in out-of-contract League Two defender

Wanderers have shown an interest in signing Gillingham defender Jack Tucker this summer.

The 22-year-old centre-back is out of contract but would require some compensation to be paid for training fees.

Tucker earned praise for his performances last season at Priestfield despite the Kent club’s relegation to League Two, making 50 appearances in all competitions.

Reports in The Sun last week had Reading in the driving seat for his signature, although they also noted that the Royals were restricted on what they could do this summer after breaching EFL rules on profit and sustainability.

Swansea City and Charlton Athletic were also linked – although the latter now look unlikely to get involved.

Ian Evatt is one defender down after releasing Alex Baptiste this summer and could have an advantage in midfielder, Kyle Dempsey, who played alongside Tucker at Gillingham as his captain before his switch to the North West in January.

Most of the Wanderers players will report for duty today at Lostock for fitness testing and medical checks before flying out to Portugal this weekend for a week-long training camp.

New signing Jack Iredale will be part of the group, having recently travelled back from Australia, but some of the international contingent will not link up with the squad until later in pre-season.

James Trafford, Amadou Bakayoko and Dion Charles are not expected to be on the trip after their duties with England Under-21s, Sierra Leone and Northern Ireland, respectively.

Wanderers are also expected to name more new signings for their B Team squad later today with news emerging locally that Warrington Town midfielder Matthew Grivosti has secured a deal at the UniBol.

The 22-year-old scored nine times in 21 starts for the Northern Premier League club last season and is the cousin of former Bolton Wanderers academy defender Tom Grivosti, now at Irish club St Patrick’s.

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ITK Iles as per usual. 

No, they were having talks with him, but he decided he didn't want to move North.

Keegan wrote:No, they were having talks with him, but he decided he didn't want to move North.

It’s reet grim up North. Funny ain’t it that Hierro, Okocha, Djorkaeff and Anelka didn’t mind too much.

Why Bolton Wanderers missed out on long-term defensive target Jack Tucker



Wanderers have missed out on long-term defensive target Jack Tucker.

Ian Evatt had been in discussion with the Gillingham centre-half and his representatives for several weeks but after pushing for an answer was told this week that the player does not want to move up North.

MK Dons eventually won the race for the 22-year-old, who is expected to command a substantial training fee despite being out of contract this summer.

Wanderers’ League One rivals have also had a long-standing interest in the defender and reports yesterday claimed they are looking to him as a replacement for the sought-after Harry Darling.

Wanderers do have other targets and after getting a final answer from Tucker’s camp they can now push on to pursue them.

As The Bolton News went to press last night, one of those targets was on the verge of signing on loan for the season.

Liverpool’s Conor Bradley is all set for a move to the University of Bolton Stadium and could even link up with his new team-mates at their pre-season training camp in Portugal.

Bradley has been on international duty with Northern Ireland alongside Dion Charles and will come in as a challenger on the right side of the defence.

Wanderers fly out to the Algarve this weekend to begin a week-long camp, from which The Bolton News will bring you all the latest news, via chief football writer, Marc Iles.

Back on home base, Wanderers also confirmed the names of three B Team players who have been signed as part of Matt Craddock’s shadow squad.

Wolves striker Conor Carty, a Republic of Ireland Under-19 international, has joined the Whites looking to build on a handful of Papa John’s Trophy games he played for the Molineux men over the past couple of seasons.

Warrington Town midfielder Matthew Grivosti will feature for Bolton’s second string after scoring nine goals in 21 starts for the Northern Premier League club last season.

And former Manchester United Connor Stanley completed a trio of additions, the versatile attacker having spent last season on loan in the US with Atlanta 2021.
Stanley started his youth career with Birmingham City and signed for United in 2018.

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I'm more interested in why we've missed out on Michal Helik who seems a much better option for a promotion push. Heard nothing since our in-house transfer expert called it
Either way I still think we need an experienced quality CB - and a quality DM unless GT continues to improve another notch or two.