The worst kept secret of the past month was that Andy Lonergran was on his way to the Reebock, and today it has been confirmed that the keeper has joined Bolton Wanderers .
The 28-year-old keeper completed a medical last night and has signed a three-year deal his new club. Lonergran completed one full season at Elland Road and made 38 appearances, as total which would have been higher if he hadn’t been out for a month with the broken finger he suffered in the autumn. I don’t remember him making too many mistakes in his time at the club, but Neil Warnock obviously preferred to sign Paddy Kenny, who he knows well from his time at Sheffield United and QPR.
Kenny’s signing meant that Lonergran had to move on to get a chance of first team football, while Warnock can now use the cash to strengthen his quad in other departments. Luckily for the keeper Bolton boss Owen Coyle has long been an admirer, and told his club’s official website "We have a player who has a wealth of experience at this level and also his signing will add to the competition for the keeper's jersey."
The fee is officially undisclosed, although the Yorkshire Post have put the figure at £200,000. That might be a little bit disappointing when Bolton had competition from three other clubs who also wanted Lonergran’s signature, so I was hoping that a bit of a bidding war would start that would push the price up a bit.
With Maik Taylor also having left the club in the summer, Alex Cairns is now the second choice keeper at the club. There hasn’t yet been any word of Warnock looking for anyone else as cover, so maybe Cairns is moving up from the youth team to be our reserve goalkeeper. Meanwhile, I’m sure Leeds fans will wish Lonegran well at his new club, as long as he doesn’t perform too well when me meet Bolton next season!