Bolton Wanderers sign second Blackpool-linked player following addition of ex-Wrexham man

Bolton Wanderers have secured the signing of Xavier Simons on a four-year deal - after reportedly seeing off competition from Blackpool and three other clubs.

The 22-year-old becomes the second Seasiders-linked player to make the move to the Toughsheet Community Stadium this week, with former Wrexham striker Sam Dalby also being captured by the Trotters.

Simons, who started his career with Chelsea, makes the move to the North West after spending the last two years with Hull City.

During his time at the MKM Stadium, he made 38 appearances for the Tigers in total, as well as being loaned out to Fleetwood Town and Wycombe Wanderers.

Before completing the move to Bolton, the former England youth international was reportedly also attracting interest from Blackpool, alongside Hibernian, Plymouth Argyle and Wigan Athletic.

Blackpool’s business so far

So far this summer, the Seasiders have been able to get two deals over the line ahead of Steve Bruce’s first full season in charge at Bloomfield Road.

Fraser Horsfall got the ball rolling, with the 28-year-old penning a four-year deal following the expiry of his contract with Stockport County.

The centre back was part of the Hatters side that won promotion to League One, and featured 31 times in the third tier last season.

Meanwhile, he was quickly followed through the door by Michael Ihiekwe - who has signed a three-year deal after leaving Sheffield Wednesday.

Throughout his career, the 32-year-old has won promotion to the Championship on four separate occasions.

Discussing the reasons behind his move to the Fylde Coast, Ihiekwe said: “You’d be silly not to listen to other clubs and their pitches, but as soon as I met Steve Bruce it was a big thing for me to work with someone like that.

“He told me about the club, its ambitions, and what the plans are. Straightaway - that was top of my list. He was a big difference maker.

“I’ve had in the past where managers are calling you all of the time and applying pressure; obviously you’ve got to do that to a certain degree, but he had a really nice balance of giving me time and letting me make my own decision.

“I was in contact with Downesy (David Downes) first, he was a big part of it. He’s a brilliant guy. He brought me in at Wednesday, so I had plenty of conversations with him before I signed here. Knowing him from before, I had that trust in him.

“I still want to be ambitious and play in the league above, so hopefully we can make that happen. You need a strong backbone at this level, and the squad is really good at the minute.

“Hopefully we can make a few good adjustments, start the season well, and go from there.”

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