WANDERERS boss Ian Evatt says “there’s no grudges held” following Antoni Sarcevic’s move to Stockport County.

The Bolton captain’s contract was set to run out at the end of the season and he opted to sign a two-and-a-half-year deal at Edgeley Park.

Evatt praised Sarcevic for what he achieved during his time at the UniBol but insists his main focus is his current squad.

“Stockport made contact. Would he be available? The answer was yes. It was the honest answer,” said the Bolton boss.

“He was out of contract in the summer. This club is always looking for progression and at the moment we couldn’t commit to giving him any longer than the contract he was on.

“We had a conversation. He then said he’d be interested in it and it developed from there. Sarce has been a fantastic captain, a fantastic player for this football club.

“There’s no grudges held. Football moves on really quickly. We wish him well, we wish him all the best, but now it’s about focusing on what we’re doing.” 

Evatt says the club is already planning for the January transfer window but insists they won’t make any rash decisions.

The Bolton boss also revealed they are unlikely to bring in a free agent before the window opens.

“No, that’s a really dodgy market,” he added. “On the back of a pandemic now, these players that have been out of contract for a while, they would take a long, long time to get up to speed and we want real impact right now. 

“We’re not going to make rushed decisions. We’ve showed that we’re strategic in our recruitment, myself and Chris Markham do a lot of hard work, along with rest of the recruitment team and recruitment analysts and we’ll look at things for January. 

“Of course we want to strengthen and go again. We’re always looking at improving this team, so obviously there will be money available in January to go and recruit who we need to.”

Social, newsletters, subscriptions and getting in touch...

You can follow the Bolton News on social media, by joining us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

We also have dedicated Facebook groups on Crime & Court, Traffic & Travel, Nostalgia and our Camera Club page

If you want to make sure you don't miss the most important news stories every day, sign up to one of our free e-mail newsletters 

Gain unlimited access to the Bolton News website with a premium digital subscription - we are running a £2 for two months special offer

Or if you want the Bolton News newspaper delivered to your door, get in touch with our home delivery team or call us on 0800 953 0227

Finally, have you got a story for us? If so, contact us at newsdesk@theboltonnews.co.uk or by using our online contribution form