RONAN Darcy has signed a year extension to his Wanderers contract as he jetted out for a loan spell in Norwegian football with Sogndal.

The 20-year-old midfielder is now tied to the club until the summer 2023 and is due to return to Bolton in early December.

Sogndal are a second-tier side managed by ex-Leeds United midfielder Eirik Bakke with hopes of promotion to the top flight this season.

Dennis Politic, who has also been offered a contract extension at Bolton, has joined Port Vale on loan for the rest of the season.

Both Darcy and Politic were part of the young team which started Wanderers’ last season in League One, 2019/20, in which they started with a 12-point deduction for going into administration.

Evatt believes the same young players must be given time to develop before being considered ready for regular first team football again.

“Just to repeat what I’ve said in the past, those young players that have played in the season of the takeover were thrust into it, needs must, and not all were ready, if any were ready really, to be honest in League One at that time,” he said.

“Dennis was a shining star amongst that team, but he still needs development time and he missed the whole of last season, so he’s not ready to play in our first team week in, week out, at the moment.

“It’s a game of opinions and some fans might say that he is, I see him every day and I can tell you he is not. That does not mean to say he’s not going to be ready in the future and we hope that he is, so this is all about his development and doing right by him to get him the football he needs so he comes back here and is competitive for the future.”

Evatt also hinted that other young players could be sent out on loan before the end of the transfer window in a fortnight.

“Possibly,” he said. “We’re doing what we can to make sure that our young players get the right clubs.”

The Bolton boss said he would never demand that players he sends out on loan must play a certain number of games, having rejected such demands of his own loanees in the past.

“When clubs try to do that it infuriates me because it means they are basically trying to pick my team for me,” he said.

“Dennis, like everyone else, has to earn it. That’s football, you don’t have a God-given right to play every Saturday, you have to earn it. Dennis knows that and I am sure he will.

“They have brought him in – obviously those conversations have taken place – but you can’t just guarantee he will play because what does it say to everyone else? This guy is starting even if he isn’t playing well. It is not the right message.

“I’ll never say to a football club ‘these lads have to play’ because football managers have a tough job and the lads have to learn the hard way and know if they are not producing the goods they can be left out.”