WANDERERS are likely to give their new manager as much scope as possible to shape his squad the way he wants it as the club prepares to launch its retained list.

The Whites are soon expected to confirm which scholars or senior professionals are in contract for 2020/21 and which players, if any, have been offered new deals.

A playing budget for next season is still somewhat of a grey area as the club waits for news on whether a salary cap will be brought in for League Two – and, as such, they have been unable to offer firm deals to the likes of Remi Matthews, Jack Hobbs, Jason Lowe or Ali Crawford, who can leave for free at the end of this month.

Re-signing some of the players who played in League One last season has not been ruled out, however, and one of the new manager’s first tasks will be to sit down with the head of football operations, Tobias Phoenix, to look at the options.

The club approached Barrow for the services of Ian Evatt yesterday but will need to fork out a substantial compensation fee for the 38-year-old and his assistant, Peter Atherton.

The recently promoted club has also insisted that the fee be paid in one chunk before they are granted permission to officially talk with Evatt.

Despite there being no manager yet in place, the transfer rumour mill has already kicked into gear as Bolton have been credited with an interest in last season’s League Two top scorer, Eoin Doyle, who spent the second half of last season helping Swindon Town gain promotion.

The prolific 32-year-old has been offered a new deal at the County Ground and scored 25 goals in 34 appearances last season.

Reports claim that Salford City and Bolton have been keeping tabs on his situation in an effort to tempt him back to the North West, where he previously played at Preston North End and Oldham Athletic.