He didn’t even play a first-team game for them.
Stephen Ireland has had his contract with Bolton Wanderers cancelled and leaves the club without having played a single game for them.
Ireland had his deal terminated on Thursday afternoon, just over two months after joining the Championship side as a free agent.
BREAKING: @OfficialBWFC terminate the contract of midfielder Stephen Ireland #SSN
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 20, 2018
Bolton released a short statement, saying:
“Bolton Wanderers can confirm the cancellation of midfielder Stephen Ireland’s contract by mutual consent. The 32-year-old linked up with the Whites on a short-term contract back in October, but the decision has now been taken between himself and the club to bring his deal to an end.
“All at BWFC would like to wish Stephen all the best with his future endeavours.”
⚽ Bolton Wanderers can confirm that midfielder Stephen Ireland has left the club by mutual consent. We would like to wish Stephen all the best in his future endeavors.
👉🏻https://t.co/uAybEgzv9U#BWFC 🐘🏰
— Bolton Wanderers (@OfficialBWFC) December 20, 2018
The former Manchester City midfielder signed for Bolton on October 9. According to Marc Iles, a reporter for the Bolton News, Ireland only managed to play a couple of reserve-team games during his brief time with the club. His contract had been due to expire in January. Bolton are currently second from bottom in the Championship.
Ireland is a free agent once again. The 32-year-old has only made five first-team appearances over the last two seasons, after breaking his leg in training in May 2016.
He was released by Stoke City last summer after five years with the club.
Ireland was highly rated as a young player and briefly excelled for Manchester City, winning the club’s player of the season award for the 2008/09 Premier League season. A year later, he was transferred to Aston Villa as part of the deal that took James Milner to City.
After three seasons with Villa, and a loan spell with Newcastle United, Ireland signed for Stoke where he scored six goals in 70 games.
The Corkman won six caps for the Republic of Ireland, scoring four times. He last featured for the national team in 2007 when Steve Staunton was the manager.
