WANDERERS hope to advance talks with Filipe Morais and Jay Spearing this week as Phil Parkinson shifts his recruitment plans up a gear.

 

Negotiations have begun with a handful of free agents, including ex-Newcastle United star Sammy Ameobi and ex-Bradford City pair Tony McMahon and Stephen Darby, and The Bolton News understands the Whites plan to box off at least one new signing in the next few days.

 

With the club still in embargo, Parkinson has had to concentrate his efforts thus far on tying up out-of-contract players and sussing out the loan market.

 

He will not be able to widen his search until the EFL lift their transfer restrictions, which have been in place since December 2015. And to do so, the first step will be for Wanderers to submit their overdue financial accounts.

 

The weight of contract talks at the Macron this summer has given Parkinson plenty to ponder and the Whites boss is looking forward to tying up the last remaining signatures.

 

“We were in quite an unusual situation with so many of the players being out of contract,” he said. “We’d taken the decision to leave all the contracts to the end and that worked well for us in that there were no distractions as the season drew to a close but equally once it had finished there was a lot of work to be done to get the ones we wanted to keep signed up to new deal.

 

“There are one or two more players who for different reasons have been delayed with their negotiations but we’re working on them and gradually we’ll make announcements.”

 

Wanderers are also expected to confirm a two-year shirt sponsorship deal with gambling firm Bet Fred.

 

The agreement is understood to be worth significantly more than their previous deal with online company Spin and Win.

 

Meanwhile, Dean Holdsworth’s Sports Shield BWFC face a winding-up petition in court this morning from finance company BluMarble Ltd.

 

A second adjournment will be requested as negotiations continue to repay the £5million loan, plus interest, taken out last March.