WANDERERS will go all-out for a winger in the final weeks of the transfer window.

Phil Parkinson has lost out on two wide men in the last fortnight – and faces a struggle to land long-time target Mustapha Carayol from Middlesbrough.

The Gambia international has been told he can leave the Riverside and has spoken to Wanderers about a potential loan move. But the deal has gone cold in the last couple of weeks, with sources close to the player claiming he would prefer a club in London.

Nevertheless, Parkinson remains upbeat he can add to his ranks before the end of the month and stave off any unwanted interest in his own players.

“There will be one or two changes before the window closes,” he told The Bolton News. “In a way I will be quite happy when it is closed because we’ve got what we’ve got then.

“We’re short in wide areas, we know that, but they are difficult to get those players and a lot of teams are saying the same.

“We have missed out on a couple but we’ll try and rectify that as soon as possible.”

Chris Long, who last week signed for Fleetwood Town on loan, was another player rumoured to interest Parkinson – who would also like to add one more striker to challenge Zach Clough, Gary Madine, Kaiyne Woolery, Max Clayton and Jamie Proctor.

The nature of Wanderers’ embargo, which sees every deal passed through the fine-toothed comb of the Football League and is thought to limit the number of salaried first-team players in the squad, has undoubtedly been a hindrance to the Whites boss as he tried to strengthen his squad in the last few weeks.

Parkinson refuses to mope, however, and believes he will have a much more balanced squad on September 1 than the one he inherited.

“It has been a long summer, a good one, but a long one,” he said.

“I have enjoyed piecing the squad together and it’s taken slightly longer than I anticipated but hopefully we can get a couple more pieces of the jigsaw.

“We do lack in a couple of areas, we know that, but we’re working very closely with the chairman and doing everything we can to add those extra players who can make a difference.

“Other clubs who haven’t made great starts have reached for the cheque book and brought in players – we need to make sure we are strong enough too.”