WANDERERS do have plans to increase competition in defence next season but have not made enquiries for Valenciennes defender Taylor Moore.

The Bolton News understands that Ian Evatt has identified a few players who could improve his options at the back but that reports linking the Whites with ex-Bristol City man Moore are wide of the mark.

League One rivals Bristol Rovers have reportedly agreed a deal with the 27-year-old, who spent last season in the French second division.

Moore is known to Wanderers’ recruitment chief, Chris Markham, having come through the England set-up a few years ago whilst playing at Lens.

Wanderers are happy to keep their transfer work under the radar for the time being, having identified several targets well in advance of their play-off final defeat.

The lack of tangible progress has been a concern for some supporters but the club remain confident that they can add to the squad by the time the players return for pre-season training at the end of the month, and then fly out for a fitness camp in Portugal.

Meanwhile, Gethin Jones completed the 50th and final game of his season after earning his sixth international cap for Australia as they beat Palestine 5-0 in Perth.

The Bolton vice-captain played 90 minutes as Graham Arnold’s side completed the second round group stage with a 100 per cent record.

The third round sees 18 qualified teams from the Asia region split into three groups of six. After playing each other home and away, the top two from each group will qualify directly to the 2026 World Cup finals and the third and fourth team in each group will advance to a fourth round.

Other countries to have qualified include Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan, with five other places still to be decided as we went to press.

Northern Ireland also played their final friendly of the season, with two Conor Bradley goals enough to beat Andorra, but Eoin Toal remained an unused substitute.

Wanderers also expressed their sadness yesterday that former forward Terry Allcock had passed away at the age of 88.

Leeds-born Allcock scored twice against Manchester City on his Bolton debut in 1953 aged just 17 years and 305 days.

He spent much of his time at Burnden Park as understudy to greats like Nat Lofthouse, Willie Moir and Harold Hassall and after scoring 11 goals in 32 games he was transferred to Norwich City, becoming one of the club’s most fondly remembered players of the era.

Allcock – who also played Minor Counties cricket for Norfolk - scored 127 times in 339 games in an 11-year spell at Carrow Road, putting him second in the club’s all-time goalscoring list. He also coached at the Canaries after his retirement. He was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2002.

Norwich said in a statement: “The club is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Terry Allcock on Monday night.

"He was a key part of the memorable '59ers FA Cup run, when City reached the semi-final for the first time, as a third division side.

"His goal against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane is fondly remembered by many supporters, while the underdog Canaries also claimed scalps such as Matt Busby's Manchester United and Sheffield United en route.

"The '59ers cup run will always be talked about, but Allcock remained a huge part of the club long after his playing days at Norwich City, turning his hand to coaching until 1973.

"The thoughts of everybody at Norwich City are with Terry’s family and friends at this deeply sad time."