WANDERERS are ready to strike early in the January transfer window to land Accrington Stanley striker Dion Charles.

The Northern Ireland international is understood to be close to signing a deal which would see Bolton pay a six-figure cash fee up front to their League One rivals.

If the deal is completed, Charles would become the first player since July 2018 to be signed for a transfer fee and only the second since January 2015.

Charles has been forced to the margins of the Stanley squad this season after refusing to sign a new contract with the club.

Described by his manager, John Coleman, as a “Mexican Stand-off” – the 26-year-old has been limited to just a handful of appearances for his club since the start of the campaign, the last of which came in September.

He has continued to feature for his country but was not in their squad to play Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier in November. He currently has six caps to his name.

But Charles has a healthy scoring record at League One level and netted 20 goals for Stanley last season, sparking rumours of a big money move to the Championship.

He also scored against Wanderers in the crushing 7-1 defeat at the Wham Stadium in December 2019.

Ian Evatt has been eyeing the start of the January window to make some quick deals to boost confidence around his squad and should – as expected – Charles complete the final details of his deal then his arrival would certainly fit the bill.

Wanderers have suffered for a lack of competition for Eoin Doyle this season, with Amadou Bakayoko struggling to stay fit since his summer move from Coventry City.

Evatt has also hinted that he will use the loan market this month to bring more options to his squad, with an attacking midfielder believed to be high on his list of priorities.

Although cash deals are more rare in the lower divisions, Bolton have been unable to pay money up front for much of their recent history because of the terms of various transfer embargoes levied against the club.

The Whites paid £200,000 to Charlton for Josh Magennis in 2018 and had agreed a £1million deal for Forest Green’s Christian Doidge until financial problems under the previous ownership saw the deal collapse embarrassingly after an initial loan.

Prior to that, Bolton brought in Czech midfielder Filip Twardzik for a nominal fee from Celtic in January 2015 and also paid money to non-league Tamworth for Kaiyne Woolery a season earlier.

Wanderers’ last substantial outlay was to bring Jay Spearing from Liverpool in a deal reportedly worth £1.4million, which happened in the same summer Dougie Freedman signed Rob Hall from West Ham via a tribunal, with costs eventually hitting £750,000.