Blackpool hand trial to former Bolton Wanderers, Leeds United and Sunderland midfielder

The 33-year-old, who played under Appleton at Lincoln City, is currently on trial with the Seasiders with a view to earning himself a deal.

However, the Seasiders won’t be rushing into anything and will take their time looking at the former Bolton, Leeds United and Sunderland midfielder.

“He’s a top talent,” Appleton said. “He did brilliantly for me at Lincoln and he’s obviously someone I’ve admired in the past.

“He’s in a good place, although he’s way behind the other players in terms of fitness levels because he’s been doing a lot of stuff on his own because he had an injury at the back end of last season.

“He’s enjoyed it, the players have enjoyed having him around as have the staff, so let’s see how the next couple of weeks progress.

“There’s no timeline from us, there’s no timeline from him. It’s just an opportunity for both parties to have a look at each other and see how they feel.”

There’s no doubting Bridcutt’s ability having consistently played at the top level, but he has been blighted by injury issues over the past few years.

The midfielder was limited to just 14 league appearances last season, although he did play in 30 games the previous year when he helped Lincoln reach the League One play-off final.

“He’s had his issues over the past,” Appleton admitted.

“But he’s still had a decent amount of game time over the past few seasons and I think he’s the type of player you have to accept will pick up injuries because of the way he plays.

“He’s not shy, he likes to tackle, he likes to go to ground, put his foot in and mix it with people, so he’s likely to get his fair share of injuries.

“But he’s come in the last week or so, trained well, really getting up to speed with the pace of training and he looks fit, as he always does, because he’