Bolton Wanderers boss wants striker signing before kick-off

Wanderers want two more front men in the summer transfer window – and at least one of them to be in situ by the time the League One campaign kicks off against Stockport County.

Schumacher has had his transfer pot increased by the £1.2million sale of George Thomason to Wrexham but has had a frustrating time waiting for his top transfer targets to become available.

Youngsters Daeshon Lawrence and David Abimbola have been used as cover - the former scoring in Tuesday night's 5-2 win at Shrewsbury Town.

The club has been linked with Celtic’s Johnny Kenny, North Macedonia international David Toshevski and, most recently, Preston’s Will Keane – although it is understood he is not at the top of Bolton’s list at present.

Schumacher is pushing for a signing to go through before this weekend’s final pre-season friendly but urged supporters to be patient as the club stick to their recruitment plan.

“We've had loads of discussions, as you would see, as you would expect,” he told The Bolton News.

“But these things take time, especially in this area of the pitch. Everyone's after strikers and it's not easy. But hopefully we can have something done for the weekend.

“If we can get somebody with us that is ready to go, then perfect. But if we don't, then we have to adjust and just make sure that we're ready for Stockport.”

Whispers of interest in North End striker Keane emerged over the last few days – gaining traction after the Championship club confirmed the signing of ex-Sheffield Wednesday striker Michael Smith.

There has been little encouragement from within Wanderers walls, however, and when asked whether he wanted to bring in a player with more experience to his attack, Schumacher also seems to play down the idea of 32-year-old Keane joining the club.

“Sam Dalby is 25,” he said. “Sam's relatively experienced. He's a good age.

“He knows the game. He's really bright. He's seen in his first few days in training that he's capable of leading the line.

“So, we just want to get the best fit, whatever we can get. And people who we think can go and score goals and help the team. So yes, there will be areas off the pitch, hopefully, that we can strengthen for experience, youth, whatever.

“Just as long as we're better, I'm not bothered.”

Dalby will not be available for the opening weekend of the season but Schumacher has played down rumours that there could be a serious issue, which threatens the former Wrexham forward’s involvement in the first couple of months of the campaign.

“He won't make the first couple of games, he'll be a bit longer than that,” said the Bolton boss. “I don't know exactly, it depends on how his symptoms are and how he progresses. But he's moving in the right direction.

“It was a decent enough tear in the hamstring when he got it, so we won't rush it. To bring him back too quickly you could see him break down again, so we will decide how long depending on how that recovery goes.

“Again, it's another area of the pitch which everyone can see we need to strengthen in.”