EOIN Toal has signed a new contract with Wanderers, taking him to the summer of 2027.

The Northern Ireland international, who recently passed 50 league starts for Bolton, was signed in July 2022 for just £50,000 from Irish Premier League side Derry City.

He has since become a regular first team starter for Ian Evatt and established himself at international level under Michael O’Neill.

On signing his new deal Toal said even he has been surprised by the speed of his progress.

“I do have to pinch myself sometimes, knowing where I came from,” he told The Bolton News.

“Just getting into the first team was the challenge at the start and then just getting as many games as possible. All the things that have come with it now are great, I am really proud.

“I absolutely love being around the place, the people, the staff, they have just been brilliant. Ever since I have been here I have been welcomed with open arms so I am proud to represent the club and to extend my stay.”

The next box Toal intends to tick is playing in the Championship, something which will be a step nearer if Wanderers can take three points against Barnsley at Oakwell on Tuesday night.

“I definitely want to play at that level,” he said. “It has been well highlighted that we want to kick on.

“It is something we are aiming for and there are some big games coming up now.

“If we can keep putting points on the board, there’s no reason why we can’t get there.”

Ian Evatt has also praised the 25-year-old for becoming one of his dressing room leaders in what has been a relatively short space of time.

“If I can help players around me, that’s great,” said Toal, who had captained Derry as a teenager.

“I have played a lot of the games this season, and it is something that I like to do, be vocal on the pitch, talk my way through.

“We have lots of leaders around the team and I think everyone chips in their own way. It really is a team effort.”

Toal’s next game could be one of his most important. Barnsley are three points behind Bolton with a game in hand, so any slip-up could hand the promotion advantage to the men from South Yorkshire.

A point would be enough to send the Whites into second spot above Derby County, who are not in action. After a taxing couple of weeks Toal believes Saturday’s win against Cambridge has put everyone in the right frame of mind.

“Every game is going to be hugely important for us from here on in but we can only really focus on one at a time, Barnsley first,” he said. “Go there, three points and then on to the next one.

“I thought we played well on Saturday against Cambridge, as a collective, and probably should have scored more. But we are going there with confidence.

“Barnsley is a tough place to go and they have been on a great run of form as well but we really believe we can go there and get a result.

“It has been tough for us recently, especially on Tuesday at Wigan where we felt like we’d dominated the game.

“We came out of that and put on a decent performance on Saturday against Cambridge. Hopefully now we can go to Barnsley and put some more points on the board to move up the table.”