WANDERERS are hoping to tempt Ryo Miyaichi into spending another season at the Reebok.
Owen Coyle has already opened talks with Arsenal over loaning the Japanese teenager, and is hoping to convince Arsene Wenger that a spell in the Championship would be good for his development.
“We’d love to have him back – he’s an exciting young player and that’s what we want for next year,” Coyle said yesterday. “I’ve had a discussion with Arsenal already and it’s only early days in the summer but we’ll see how that pans out.”
Miyaichi was outstanding in his first half dozen games for the Whites but his impact lessened after a couple of late-season injuries. The 19-year-old forged a close bond with South Korea international Chung-Yong Lee, and told Japanese journalists at the end of last season that he would not be against a return to the North West, with chances likely to still be limited at the Emirates.
“Ryo certainly loved his time at the club.,” Coyle told The Bolton News. “To be fair to the kid, he was trying to play through injuries in the last four or five games and I had to say to him ‘in order to be at your best, you have to be at your maximum fitness.’ He had such a big heart that he wanted to play his part. We had to take him out of the firing line.
“If we could get him back with us again, then that would be great.”
Coyle is no stranger to the loan market but with transfer funds likely to be at a premium next season, he may have to rely on younger talents from the top flight to boost his numbers for a minimum 48-game campaign.
He does not think the club’s relegation will badly harm his chances of attracting the right kind of players.
“The relationship we’ve got with the top clubs is there for everyone to see,” he said.
“You can see that with the quality of player we’ve been able to get in on loan, and that will continue to be the case.
“If the right ones become available then we’ll do everything we can to bring them to the football club.”
It is understood Coyle is looking to sign three new players on permanent deals this summer, with a centre back and central midfielder of utmost importance. He will meet with club chairman Phil Gartside and owner Eddie Davies in the next couple of weeks to discuss budgets - but insists his squad are in good shape to make an immediate return to the big time.
“We’re building an exciting young team and in that respect, we’re actually better placed than we were last year,” he said. “From the team that would have finished eighth over the last 11 games, there’s only Nigel Reo-Coker that had played consistently that has left.
“We’ve got Stuart Holden, Chung-Yong Lee and Tyrone Mears to come back into that as well, never mind that we’re looking to add one or two to the team.”
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