Wanderers have lined-up their third signing of the transfer window and hope to have the new man in place for this weekend’s trip to Derby County.

Ian Evatt and his staff are keeping the identity of the new arrival a closely guarded secret but The Bolton News understands that AFC Wimbledon playmaker Ayoub Assal – a name which has been regularly linked in the past few months - is NOT on the club’s radar at present.

Following the arrival of Randell Williams from Hull City and Dan Nlundulu from Southampton, Evatt said his next “exciting” signing would be discussed in a video call on Thursday and completed early this week.

Wanderers could be a striker light at Pride Park on Saturday with Jon Dadi Bodvarsson set to miss the game with an ankle injury sustained during the 3-0 win against Portsmouth.

Evatt also predicted that a player would complete a move away from Bolton this week, which could mean the conclusion of Dapo Afolayan’s time at the UniBol.

There had been no advance in St Pauli’s discussions with the 25-year-old attacker yesterday, according to the German press, although head of sport Andreas Bornemann was optimistic that the club would still make signings before February 1.

Afolayan is now suspension free and would be able to play against Derby if the situation remained the same, although Evatt claimed last week that the Hamburg club was not the only one which had been accepted.

Kieran Sadlier has also been linked with a move away from Bolton in the January window with some reports claiming League Two basement side Gillingham are interested in taking him to Priestfield. It is understood that no approach has been made, as things stand.

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