Bolton Wanderers receive transfer boost as talks confirmed over midfielder | OneFootball

It is "highly likely" that Bolton get this deal over the line.

A massive hint has been dropped about the future of Bolton Wanderers midfield target Jesper Ceesay.

It emerged in recent days that the Trotters were looking internationally for transfer targets this summer. Bolton are doing all they can to reconstruct the team put together by former boss Ian Evatt to make it fit with new head coach Steven Schumacher.

Ceesay, a Gambian central midfielder who plays in Sweden, was linked with the League One outfit by local outlet Sportsbladet. They claimed that initial contact had been made between Wanderers and the 23-year-old's current side, IFK Norrkoping. They are open to letting him go, with Sportsbladet further stating that a move for the player to Lancashire was "highly likely."

Bolton have already made one midfield addition this summer by signing Xavier Simons from Hull City. While he will add an extra attacking threat in the middle of the pitch, Ceesay's usual role lies deeper in the team. He can also play as a left-back, which is an area that Schumacher is looking to reinforce this summer.

IFK had a match against Djurgardens IF last night; it finished 1-1. Crucially for Bolton, Ceesay was left out of the squad entirely, the second time in two matches that he has not featured for them. His manager, Martin Falk, has confirmed that talks are ongoing over a deal that could see the Gambian move on from Sweden this summer.

"We are in dialogue with another club, I have been told by the club," Falk told NT-sporten after the draw. While he knows that discussions are ongoing over the midfielder's future, the IFK boss claimed that he had no clue which team was interested in his player.

Ceesay's contract is up in December, which could make Bolton's move for him much smoother as IFK may not want to take the risk of him letting his contract run down and losing the midfielder for nothing.

Jepser Ceesay's arrival could cause Bolton exit domino effect

If the Gambian were to make the move over to the UK, it may spell the end for one of Wanderers' current options in the centre of the park. It's a position that they have plentiful options in, with Kyle Dempsey, Aaron Morley, Joel Randall, Josh Sheehan, George Thomason and Simons on their books.

Bringing in Ceesay would create more congestion in this part of the squad. Schumacher has said before that he's looking to trim down the squad. He'd surely have to take action if he were to complete the deal for the IFK man.