Exclusive: Bolton Wanderers, Cardiff City, Preston North End and Wigan Athletic eyeing up EFL goalkeeper | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers, Cardiff City, Preston North End and Wigan Athletic are all eyeing moves for Fleetwood Town's David Harrington, FLW has learned

Bolton Wanderers, Cardiff City, Preston North End and Wigan Athletic are in a four-club transfer race to secure the services of Fleetwood Town goalkeeper David Harrington, sources have exclusively revealed to Football League World.

The 25-year-old is in demand this summer and has no shortage of suitors, with all four sides bidding to add him to their respective ranks ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

Bolton find themselves in the market for additional depth between the sticks, having recently sold Luke Southwood to Bristol Rovers following the loan arrival of highly-rated shot-stopper Teddy Sharman-Lowe on loan from Chelsea, which was first called by FLW.

Cardiff, meanwhile, are preparing for their first season in English football's third-tier in more than 20 years after suffering relegation from the Championship, with newly-appointed head coach Brian Barry-Murphy sure to bolster his goalkeeping options.

As FLW also first reported, Preston have reunited with former loan star Daniel Iversen but remain on the search for a backup to the ex-Leicester City man, whereas Wigan's Sam Tickle is also likely to have interest in the coming weeks and months and manager Ryan Lowe could benefit amid the potential eventuality of a departure by beating off Bolton, Cardiff and the Lilywhites for Harrington's signature.

FLW can reveal that Harrington is of interest to the quartet after a breakout season at Fleetwood, which saw him accumulate 20 largely-impressive League Two displays before seeing his campaign curtailed by a shoulder injury in December.

Harrington, who joined Fleetwood from Cork City in January 2023, is now in the final year of his contract with the fourth-tier side and FLW understands that the 25-year-old is keen to be playing regularly at a higher level in order to come under consideration by Craig Bellamy for Wales' squad at next summer's FIFA 2026 World Cup.

Born in Cork, Harrington was a shock inclusion in the Red Dragons' squad for November's UEFA Nations League double-header against Türkiye and Iceland, although he was not in the matchday squads for either of the two fixtures and has not appeared since after spending the second-half of the season on the sidelines.

Nonetheless, he has designs on forcing his way into Bellamy's thinking and is eager to make the cut for the World Cup in North America if Wales are to qualify.

Aged 25, Harrington has already suffered two serious shoulder injuries in his career, the first of which ruled out a proposed move to Premier League side Everton in 2022.

Cardiff may be able to beat Bolton, Preston and Wigan to Fleetwood's David Harrington

Although Preston are the only club out of Harrington's current suitors who can offer Championship football next season, that also means a starting berth could prove, by far, hardest to come by at Deepdale.

Geographically, at least, both Bolton and Wigan may well fancy their odds of working that factor to their advantage in any efforts to broker a deal, but it's Cardiff who could stand the best chance of winning the race.

The Bluebirds are among the early favourites to gain promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt but are also set to enter the goalkeeping market. Jak Alnwick, who replaced Ethan Horvath early into last term, was not named in Cardiff's squad for the pre-season tour of Spain owing to a back spasm, though supporters are keen to see an upgrade sourced on the 30-year-old regardless.

Horvath, meanwhile, is expected to leave Cardiff this summer following relegation, with the prospect of playing in League One hardly set to boost his own ambitions of making Mauricio Pochettino's final United States squad for the World Cup. An exit looks likely, which could open the door for Harrington to wrestle with Alnwick to become number one if a deal progresses and later edges over the line.

Playing his football in the Welsh capital, of course, would keep him firmly on Bellamy's watchful radar ahead of the World Cup, and that could mean Cardiff may represent the most appealing destination for Harrington, helping them to see off competition from Bolton, Preston and Wigan.