IAN Evatt has confirmed that Wanderers have agreed a new contract with midfielder George Thomason.

The 20-year-old has burst on to the first team scene this season, making 10 appearances and scoring his first senior goal in the 3-3 draw at Carlisle United on Boxing Day.

He impressed once again on Tuesday night as Wanderers were held 1-1 by Morecambe at the University of Bolton Stadium, after which Evatt revealed the club has been in new talks over a deal.

“We have agreed a new contract with him, protecting ourselves as he develops now, moving forwards,” he said.

“He is a wonderful young lad. He wants to be here for the right reasons and we’ll carry on working with him and developing him.

“He has got lots of work to do but he’s a fantastic young player.”

Although the length of the new contract is as yet unknown, Thomason's current one expires in the summer.

The youngster initially penned an 18-month deal on arrival from non-league Longridge Town in 2019 and also spent some time out on loan to Bamber Bridge earlier this season.

The youngster is likely to be challenged for a place in the side this weekend by Kieran Lee, who is due back in the camp after self-isolating for 10 days after close contact with a positive Covid-19 case.

Evatt says he will rotate his players to keep them fresh – and for the first time this season has no concerns about reducing his team’s effectiveness as a result.

“When George is in the team he’s a wonderful passer, gives us that energy and a bit of solidity,” he explained. “And we have got Kieran Lee to come back, we’ve got some very good players in there.

“That is what we are capable of, we’ve strengthened the squad in January and we’re a lot better now we have competition for places. Once they are fit and up to speed we are going to be a force.”

Evatt was disappointed that two points slipped through Bolton’s grasp on Tuesday night, due largely to a contentious red card shown to debutant Marcus Maddison.

The club is expected to file an appeal with the Football Association today to have the suspension overturned but Evatt still felt it was a missed opportunity to climb a few more places in League Two.

“I feel disappointed for them because the performance didn’t get what it deserved,” he said.

“Everyone who saw that game live can see we are improving, getting better, and we dominated that game. We would have gone on to win it had it not been for that decision, in my opinion. We were not under any threat or danger, it was more about us adding to the lead and that’s why we made the changes.

“We need these lads up to speed because we have got 20 big games coming up. All is not lost and we’ll go again Saturday.”