Derry City boss Ruaidhri Higgins says the club got “a fair enough deal” from Wanderers for defender Eoin Toal.

The centre-back had established himself as one of the most promising defenders in the League of Ireland and was nearing the end of his contract.

Toal is one of several players who have made the jump from Ireland to League One this summer, along with the likes Danny Madroiu and Promise Omochere.

Higgins says the 23-year-old was happy at Derry but had ambitions to play in England for “a few years”.

“You have to respect that each individual is different. Some players might have huge ambitions to go and try something different,” he told The Derry Journal.

“I’m just using Eoin Toal as an example. He had ambitions for a few years now about trying to make a move across the water.

“I wasn’t involved in the contract that he signed but given the fact that he only had a few months left on his contract, the club got a fair enough deal.

“You can’t physically make a player sign. It’s about trying to convince them it’s the right place for them, but every player has different ambitions.

“Will Patching, for example, is extremely happy here and was happy to sign here. Don’t get me wrong, Eoin was happy here also but he had different ambitions.”

Toal is one of four summer signings at the UniBol along with Jack Iredale, Conor Bradley and James Trafford, who returned on loan from Manchester City for the season.

The defender is yet to feature in a Bolton shirt due to a minor ankle injury, which he played through in his final appearance for Derry.

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