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The transfer window may be closed – but Ian Evatt says Bolton Wanderers’ business may not be completely concluded.
Deadline day passed by without a new signing being made but with the departure of first teamers Dan Nlundulu and Jack Iredale.
Striker Nlundulu joined League One rivals Cambridge United on a season-long loan and defender Iredale signed for Scottish Premiership side Hibs on a permanent basis.
The two deals leave Bolton with 21 senior first team players to register with the EFL next week, and at least one space available.
Evatt had looked into the potential of a loan move for a Premier League youngster but decided instead to focus his efforts on bringing a free agent to the club which had previous been out of reach.
Before deadline day he told The Bolton News: “Moving two players out will give us some options but I will add that some of the players we are observing are completely free, so are not governed by the transfer window.
“We might need to allow the window to shut and see if they get their move to higher places, and if that doesn’t materialise then we should be next in line.
“It might not be Friday but somewhere down the line that something happens.
“There are one or two really good Premier League players who are becoming available too, and their first choice is Championship, that’s where we’re at, but if we’re patient they could become available too.
“There are different scenarios we could face but I am hoping we manage to strengthen a little bit and then concentrate on what we have got.”
Evatt succeeded in keeping hold of his top players, although reported interest from Turkey in striker Victor Adeboyejo will not necessarily disappear as their transfer window remains open for another fortnight.
“The one thing we have tried to do is be proactive and to protect our assets,” Evatt said.
“Fingers crossed we can hold on to everyone because I don’t want anyone to leave, other than the ones who probably know where they stand. I’d like to get to the end of the window with the squad intact because once we get everyone up to speed I think it is a talented group and the signs are there that we will be a good team.”
Wanderers brought in eight players during the window but faced spells of criticism from supporters when business slowed down and also had pre-season plans dashed with a spate of minor injuries which has left some players catching up to the rest.
“This window has been challenging for a lot of reasons but I haven’t enjoyed it,” Evatt said. “I have enjoyed getting the players we have brought in, I think they will really help us, but the time it took to get things over the line and how much it set us back in terms of preparation and ingraining what we do has taken a bit of time. We have had to go through some short term pain to get the benefits.
“But this is the first window where I can’t honestly say I haven’t really enjoyed it. I’ll be happy when it is over and I know what I will be working with and we can concentrate on the next block of games.
“A lot of it is self-inflicted because we didn’t get the job done at Wembley. I hate going over it again because we need to move forwards but that made it very difficult to plan strategically as we normally would. It is self-inflicted because of that and we have had to move goalposts, be more patient, but we are where we are, hopefully in the future we will be better prepared and ready.”
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