Michael Doherty said Toal is a "solid raw defender, good at running the ball out of defence into opposition half, solid at crosses into box, and fairly athletic for a centre back. Tons of room to grow and hope he gets it with Bolton. Sad to see him go but you could never stand in a young fellas way in progressing."
Another Derry City follower told us "He will be hugely missed - even at 23 years old, comes with a wealth of experience and a fantastic player. I know he will be loved at Bolton" - Ryan
"He's very very good only 23 as well bags of potential you've got yourself a fantastic player" - OzanDCFC
Toal seems to have been linked with a few big names too according to Pat. "Great young player. Tidy/reliable. I’m glad he’s getting a chance in England. Previously linked with Ipswich, Sunderland and Hearts". - Pat Comey
"You are getting a real gem" - Pk_Ftbl
We asked Redpillirish to give us the lowdown in a bit more detail, and whilst he is a big Toal fan, he doesn't rate his passing.
"If Toal had a 2 or 3 Year contract, I'd value him around 250,000.
He very rarely makes a mistake that leads to a chance but he is not a good passer, even for Derry City standards he is not seen as a ball player and the other other centre half that play alongside him are better at distributing. I would be pleasantly surprised if he made it to the Premier league. Best attribute... Pace, reading of the game, and leadership, Eoin is brilliant in all three of those things.
I would say to you Bolton fans that if you play a back 4, Eoin will definitely struggle. He is bullied by the leagues physical strikers at times but his reading of the game makes up for it"
Asked if Toal suits a back three better, the reply was, "I would say so, we tried a back 4 loads of times but kept leaking goals. We couldn't get out of our own half, and I'd partly point that to Eoins lack of ability in distributing."
-Redpilledirish
"Toal's a perfect example of a modern centre back, quick , good on the ball but he isn’t afraid to stick his head in and his defensive awareness to get rid when needed is brilliant. You have got a gem for sure.
It’s a huge loss but it’s the way football goes , we recruit and try bring someone to replace him.
He rarely ever makes mistakes if I'm honest , he is really reliable to amend a mistake because of his awareness and speed" - Chris Mcglaughlin
John-Paul had this to say; "Eoin will be a big loss for us. It will be hard for us to find a replacement for him over the course of the next 2 weeks before our transfer window closes.
He's a bit of everything when it comes to being a defender, a bit of an old fashioned defender but very modern too. It's a pity he wasn't under contract for a bit longer so we could negotiate a bigger fee for him.
It's part and parcel of our league, we're used to it by now. I'm just glad we're losing him to England & not Shamrock Rovers or Dundalk.
The only reference to fee I saw was in The Bolton News with it being referred to as a nominal fee with a bonus heavy deal.
Old fashioned in terms of that he's not afraid to put his head in where it hurts or shy out of a tackle. Also attacks the ball like his life depended on it, the only criticism I would give him is that for his dominance in the air he didn't score more goals.
He was signed in the summer of 2017 as a 17yr old from his hometown club Armagh City & became our youngest ever captain at 21yrs old in March 2021 under former manager Declan Devine."
- John-Paul Fahy
And last but not least we had some comments from Conor Ramsey who said; "Eoin is super solid in the air, and can play. Great young lad maturing well. Should be great player for you.
Suppose the sky's the limit. Very good 1 v 1 defending. Very quick also and very fit. Never makes mistakes.
He’s nowhere near the finished article. Will be watching with interest surprised its taking so long to him to be going to England. The sky is the limit with Eoin. Over the next 3 to 4 years he will be an animal."
With thanks to all the Derry supporters who took the time to give us the juicy details on Eoin Toal. We wish them all the best in the league this season.
In conclusion, it seems Toal is regarded as extremely fit, very fast, rarely makes mistakes at the back and isn't afraid to stick his head in when it matters. It seems we really do have "a real gem".
That's all folks. We are hoping for an announcement as soon as possible as our last friendly match is fast approaching this weekend against Huddersfield and it would be great to see him in action before the season gets underway.