An exciting update has emerged on Bolton's transfer business, one regarding Barrow goalkeeper Joel Dixon.

What's the talk?

Bolton News journalist Marc Iles has claimed that Bolton are closing in on a deal to sign Barrow goalkeeper Joel Dixon. He has said that Dixon is set to sign for Bolton this summer to reunite with his former Barrow boss Ian Evatt, who became the Bolton manager after departing from Barrow last summer.

Dixon is out of contract at the end of the month and Bolton are working to secure a deal for the 27-year-old to join on a free transfer. Barrow are attempting to pin him down to an extension, but Bolton are now the favourites to land his signature as it stands.

Back in September 2020, Barrow boss David Dunn hailed the “excellent” shot-stopper and admitted that he has been improving week-in-week-out. He told The Mail:

"I think Joel has been excellent so far. Against Stevenage, for example, everything about his game was impressive.

"Joel is growing every week, getting more confident and I've been really pleased with him."

Evatt will love it

Evatt will love it if the club can get a deal over the line for Dixon in the coming weeks. As the report mentioned, Evatt worked with the 'keeper at Barrow and already knows just how good the shot-stopper is.

Dixon will not arrive as an unknown quantity and should not need time to settle in, as he already knows what Evatt wants from his goalkeepers and he knows that the manager will trust him.

The £610-per-week beast played all 46 of Barrow's League Two matches last season and kept nine clean sheets as they narrowly avoided relegation to the National League. He is a reliable goalkeeper who can perform in the Football League, as he was not dropped for any matches and he managed to stay fit throughout the entire campaign. He also clearly impressed Evatt enough to make the Bolton boss want to add him to his squad to spend a second spell with the shot-stopper.

Matt Gilks was Bolton's number one as they sealed promotion out of League Two. Gilks kept 16 clean sheets in 35 games for Bolton, but he recently turned 39 and will obviously not be Bolton's goalkeeper in the long term.

Dixon, meanwhile, turns 28 in December and could still have a decade left in his career, which means he could be the long term replacement for Gilks.

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