CRYSTAL Palace midfielder Barry Bannan has sealed a deadline day loan move to Bolton Wanderers.
The Scotsman, who arrived at Palace during the 2013 summer window, has struggled to nail down a regular starting spot under a succession of managers and told the Advertiser on Monday night he needed to leave to get some game-time.
The 25-year-old former Aston Villa player started the first two games of Alan Pardew's tenure, against Dover in the FA Cup and Spurs in the league, but having signed Jordon Mutch, the manager seems happy to let Bannan leave the club.
Speaking exclusively to the Advertiser, Bannan said he was looking forward to working under the Trotters' boss, former Celtic manager Neil Lennon.
He said: "I'm looking forward to going out and getting games under my belt. I'm really looking forward to it and it will be a good challenge for me. There have been a few managers in my time here and it's been stop-start, stop-start so I'm looking forward to going out.
"We have been speaking to Bolton for a while now and my heart was set on going there. I have spoken to Joe Ledley about the manager Neil Lennon and I would really like to go and work under him.
"I love the Palace fans and I will be back to hopefully play, but I've got to do what's best for me at the minute and that's going out getting games permanently."
Palace are likely to be bringing in a player from Bolton in return, with the Championship side's winger Lee Chong-Yung set to arrive in SE25.
Bannan confirmed the move on Monday night, on his Twitter account.
Happy to say I've signed for Bolton and can't wait to get going. Big thank you to the palace fans for there support much appreciated ⚽️
— barry bannan (@bazzabannan25) February 2, 2015
