Highs and lows from Ronan Darcy's Bolton Wanderers career

Darcy impressed during a two-week trial with the Wiltshire club, who finished sixth in the fourth tier last season.

The youngster had been offered the chance to contonue his development in the Whites' B Team set-up but it is understood he wanted the assurance of regular senior football.

Here are some of the highs and lows from Darcy's time at Wanderers

Making his debut

Darcy made his Bolton debut in a 1-0 defeat against Nottingham Forest back in May 2019, replacing Craig Noone 20 minutes from time.

Despite the result, it must have been a special moment for the midfielder, who had been in the Whites’ youth ranks since the age of seven.

He went on to sign his first professional contract at the UniBol the following summer and said: “I always dreamed about playing first-team football for this great club.”

Junior Whites

Darcy was the last remaining member of the Junior Whites, who stepped up to face Coventry while the first-team squad was on strike amid the club's financial problems.

Despite naming the youngest starting line-up in their history, Wanderers held the Sky Blues to a goalless draw in front of around 9,000 supporters at the UniBol.

Liam Edwards and Matt Alexander also left Wanderers this summer, while the likes of Dennis Politic and Harry Brockbank departed last season.

Off the mark

Darcy’s first senior goal for Wanderers came in a 5-2 defeat against Rochdale in the Carabao Cup back in 2019.

The youngster found a way past Robert Sanchez in the Dale goal with a clinical strike from 25 yards out.

Politic also managed his first goal for the club that night, winning the ball in a dangerous area and firing home.

Ups and downs

Darcy played 22 times in 2019/20 as Wanderers were relegated to the fourth tier for the first time in more than 30 years.

The Whites were five points adrift at the foot of the table when the season was cut short due to the pandemic, with the promotion and relegation spots decided by a points-per-game model.

But the club would return to the third tier at the first time of asking under Ian Evatt, despite having to play their fixtures behind-closed-doors.

The midfielder made 11 appearances in total as Wanderers finished third thanks to a remarkable run during the final months of the campaign.

Injury frustration

Picture: Harry McGuire

Darcy put pen to paper over a new deal at Wanderers last summer before heading on loan to Norwegian side Sogndal.

However, the youngster’s time overseas got off to a frustrating start as he had trouble getting into the country to play under ex-Leeds United star Eirik Bakke due to changing quarantine laws.

Once he had finally made it to Sogndal, Darcy suffered an injury in training and was forced to watch from the sidelines for several weeks.

North of the border

After returning from Norway, the midfielder embarked on another loan spell with Scottish League One side Queen’s Park.

He made 11 appearances as the Spiders won promotion to the second tier of Scottish football, overcoming Airdrieonians over two legs in the final.

Darcy also played alongside former Bolton team-mate Luca Connell, while Owen Coyle finished the season as head coach after a successful spell in India.