AARON Morley has committed his future to Bolton Wanderers with a new deal keeping him at the club until 2027.

The midfielder is closing in on 100 appearances for the Whites, having signed from Rochdale in January 2022, and whispers of him being offered a new contract have been circulating for several weeks.

Morley has become a fan-favourite thanks to his penchant for spectacular strikes, and he has found the back of the net 10 times since arriving at the club.

The 23-year-old scored in last season’s Papa Johns Trophy semi-final win at Accrington Stanley and has three goals to his name this season.

Morley hopes he can now help Bolton push back into the Championship – and potentially even higher.

“The gaffer always talks about the journey the club is going on and it’s great to be a part of it,” he said. “Hopefully I can help the club get back to where it belongs.

“This is where I want to be at this time of my career and, hopefully, we can push on together.

“The club is still too low for what kind of club it is. We always want to get back into the Championship and potentially the Premier League. That's always a dream for me, so hopefully we can do that together.”

Morley has had to fight for his chances in the first team this season alongside the likes of Josh Sheehan, George Thomason, Kyle Dempsey, Carlos Mendes Gomes and Paris Maghoma.

He has made 26 appearances so far and feels his game has progressed in a team which is once again knocking on the door of the top two.

“I think my performances on the pitch show I’ve been working hard on the training ground and on my game,” he said. “The gaffer has rewarded that and I can't thank him enough.

“He and all his staff have been amazing with me helping me to learn every day. I feel I am improving every day and hopefully it keeps going like that.

“The players are 100 per cent in it together and if someone else is starting we back them to play well and then when it's our chance, hopefully we take it. It’s great competition and better than knowing that you’re playing every time come what may. It's healthy.

“I think we’ve had a good first half of this season and hopefully we can carry that on into January and beyond. It's a big period, the Christmas period, and I think we've done well with the games we've had. Hopefully we can continue that to keep pushing up the league.”

Morley now boasts more than 200 career games, having broken into the first team in his teens at Rochdale, and his manager Ian Evatt is convinced there is still plenty of improvement left to come in his game.

“We're pleased with his development and how he’s progressed in his time here,” he said.

“He can do multi-functional things in the centre of midfield and play as an ‘eight’ or a ‘six’. Technically he's great and his out-of-possession play is improving all the time. He is an important part of what we're doing.

“He’s played a lot of games but he’s still a young player and I think there’s huge amount of development still to come with him. We have to protect and look after our assets, and we see him as one of those assets.”