Bolton Wanderers made their first signing of the summer transfer window to get their business off to a flying start with the acquisition of Jack Iredale.
The 26-year-old defender put pen to paper on a three-year deal at Wanderers to become Ian Evatt's maiden new addition ahead of the 2022/23 campaign. Wanderers have started their transfer business early and are seeking to have the bulk of it in place before pre-season starts.
Iredale turned down the offer a fresh terms at previous club Cambridge United, where he has spent the past two seasons and made 89 apearances for the club. He joined from Carlisle United in 2020 and was part of the team which won promotion to League One in the 2020/21 campaign.
READ MORE: How Bolton Wanderers, Sheffield Wednesday & Sunderland performed in League One comparing squad value
When he was with the Cumbrians, Iredale became team mates with Gethin Jones, who played more than 30 times for the Brunton Park side in the 2019/20 campaign at right-back, with the new Wanderers defender on the opposite flank.
Iredale joined Carlisle at a similar time and spent the season then, before heading to the U's. The duo also have connections to Australia, with Jones having been born there and Iredale growing up Down Under after being born in Scotland.
Bolton were last month reported to be among a few sides said to be interested in the defender, including League One champions Wigan Athletic and Championship side Preston North End.
But Wanderers were able to complete the deal and Iredale will link up with former Cumbrians team mate Jones at the University of Bolton Stadium. There are no such clear links to either the Wigan or PNE camps.
And Iredale says Jones was somebody whom he contacted a lot when it became clear that a move to Wanderers could potentially become a reality. Hebelieves it will be nice to have a familiar face in the dressing room in the form of the Bolton vice-captain and ex-Cumbrians defender to help him get up to speed at his new club.
With pre-season training due to begin in mid-June before flying out to a training camp in Portugal ahead of the 2022/23 campaign, Iredale is looking forward to a bit of down time before the work begins for the fresh League One season. The new season starts on July 30.
He told the club YouTube channel: "I've asked Geth about 300 questions about the club! I think he was born about 30 minutes from where I live at home, but I know Geth quite well from Carlisle.
"He was playing on the other side, but when I found out about this potentially happening, I was straight on the phone to him and he was being class. He told me that anything I needed, he can help out with and it's nice to have a familiar face coming into an unfamiliar changing room.
"I'll get a chance to relax now. A couple of holidays booked and just really get myself nice and settled and then start to ramp up the pre pre-season work before the real hard work starts.
"I've had a walk around here and seen the facilities and meeting everyone, it's going to be a long couple of weeks just wanting to get started. I've got to make a point of making sure my body recovers, but mentally I'm ready to go."
