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Ian Evatt has brushed off reports claiming that Eoin Doyle is on his way out of Wanderers to make way for Dion Charles.
Last season’s top scorer at the UniBol, Doyle was linked with a move back to Ireland with St Patrick’s Athletic to finish his playing career.
Some accounts have claimed the former Swindon and Bradford City man has already agreed a three-year deal with the League of Ireland side.
The 33-year-old still has 18 months left on his contract at Bolton but the impending arrival of Accrington Stanley front man Charles had raised speculation that he could move on.
It is understood that at least two clubs in League Two have also been monitoring his situation over the last few months, looking towards a short-term loan move in January to boost their chances of promotion.
But while Evatt is looking to upgrade his attack next month, he says rumours of Doyle’s departure have no basis at the moment.
“It’s just speculation for me,” he said. “I think when you are linked with strikers, there will be speculation about strikers in your squad – simple as that.”
Charles, the 26-year-old Northern Ireland international, scored 20 goals for Stanley last season but has been side-lined for the last few months after refusing to sign a new deal with the club.
It is believed that Wanderers are paying just over £300,000 for his services in a structured deal over the course of his contract.
Evatt has stopped short of confirming the deal – but believes the fact that Bolton can now invest money in players with such market value is credit to the work Football Ventures have done since taking on the club in late August 2019.
“Dion is a player we’re interested in but nothing is a done deal until it is done,” he said.
“He is a fantastic player and has had a good goalscoring record at this level but it comes down to what we have achieved at this club. We have spent two years getting ourselves into a position to recruit assets again in the right manner.
“Credit must go to Sharon Brittan and the board for managing the whole situation, getting the club into the situation where we can recruit players of Dion and others’ quality, which we are trying to do in January.”
Wanderers go to Rotherham United on Saturday with a seriously depleted squad still missing three players who are isolating with Covid, two of which are showing significant symptoms.
The league leaders were beaten by Accrington in their last outing but Evatt admits his side will go in as rank outsiders.
“They are a team at the top of the division and don’t lose many games, and when they do they often bounce back,” he said. “I am sure they will be smarting from that defeat but they have got a home fixture against us – and people will say it is a good time to play us.
“It is up to us to prove them wrong. People won’t give us a cat in hell’s chance with what has been going on but we will go and do the best we can, it’s all we can do.”
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