WILL Aimson hopes to hitch a ride with Ian Evatt’s upwardly mobile Wanderers and fulfil his Championship dream.

The centre-back, who penned a two-year deal after leaving Plymouth Argyle this summer, makes no secret of his ambition to play in the second tier.

And he believes he has timed his move to Wanderers just right as they look to build on last season’s success to mount another push for promotion this season.

“Championship football has been my aim for a long time, beyond that, if possible,” he told The Bolton News. “I feel like this is a club that is back on its way to that level and more. It is a big part of me being here.

“I know that’s what the fans want. It is definitely what I want, to be involved in the journey back to that better level of football.”

Aimson is in the process of moving up to the Bolton area with his partner, who is from Manchester, and looking forward to meeting most of his new team-mates for the first time at the end of this week as the Bolton squad return for pre-season fitness testing.

He is already well-acquainted with Wanderers’ skipper, Antoni Sarcevic, who played alongside him at Plymouth for 12 months and on whose glowing recommendation he agreed to sign.

Aimson has played in the North West before for Blackpool and Bury – the latter spell ending at the peak of the club’s financial problems, which ultimately led to expulsion from the EFL.

The 27-year-old is glad to see that Wanderers are now on the road to recovery after their own issues with previous ownership.

“You can definitely tell the club went through a tough time but that it is on the rise again,” he said. “Everything is stable, going in the right direction. Nobody wants to see any club in the situation Bolton were in – and I had something similar with Bury. It is a horrible place to be in. But it happens and it’s happening more than it should at the moment with clubs struggling for money.

“No disrespect to Bury but for a club the size of Bolton to be in that position was ridiculous, so for it to be back on the mend and going where it is now, it’s amazing to see.”

Aimson played 46 times for Plymouth last season, and though he was released somewhat surprisingly by the club in June, he is more than happy with the way things have panned out.

“I enjoyed it at Plymouth,” he said. “It was a shame in the first year because I’d carried an injury through from the season before at Bury, and I probably should have stopped. I made myself a lot worse.

“Last season was probably the weirdest in any footballer’s career. Playing without fans was strange but it was nice to get back again and have 40-plus games under my belt.

“Leaving was a weird one but I think it was the right decision to go and get a fresh start somewhere, a new challenge. I am happy with the decision because after going out to find something exciting I have found a big club like Bolton, so I am looking forward to it.”