Bolton Wanderers have made a transfer window bid for Derry City's Eoin Toal and have targeted the defender as the club's next acquistion this summer.
Toal, 23, has made more than 150 appearances for Derry and scored six goals. This season, he has turned out 20 times in the League of Ireland Premier Division and scored once.
The defender was in action last night for the Candystripes in the Europa Conference League in a qualifier against Riga FC. Derry lost 2-0 ahead of a return fixture in Latvia next week.
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Toal has been with Derry since 2017, but his contract with the club expires at the end of this November. It means as things stand he would become a free agent over the winter and Derry could only command a transfer fee before then this summer.
Ian Evatt was frank and open on Bolton's interest in the player after his side's 2-2 draw against Stockport County behind closed doors earlier this week. Wanderers will monitor the situation after an opening bid for Toal was not accepted by Derry.
If Toal were to make the move to Wanderers, he would not be the first Derry player to leave Ireland to move on to pastures new in England or Scotland. The likes of James McClean, Connor Sammon, David Forde and Paddy McCourt have done just that after leaving the Candystripes.
Speaking last February after becoming captain of Derry, he insisted he was focussed upon the immediate future with the Candystripes. But he admitted that if an opportunity came along later down the line then he is sure he would move on to a higher level like others have in the past in England or other parts of the UK.
He told The Irish News last year: “Obviously you always want to be playing at the highest level you can and if that opportunity came along I'm sure I would go but at the moment I'm just focussed on Derry.
“Being captain is a big challenge but it's one I'm looking forward to and it shows you the faith that the manager has put in me. It's an honour for me and my family, it's a bigger responsibility but I'm not going to change as a person, I'm going to carry on and be as professional as possible. All I can do is my best, that's all I can hope for."
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