Break down of Bolton Wanderers' summer transfer target positions in League One

While the Bolton boss has confirmed he will add quality over quantity before the start of the new season, he does have a couple of key positions in the squad that are looking low on competition.

Entering into his fifth window in charge, Evatt does not find himself having to completely rebuild the squad as he has in the past. In fact, the team’s post-January form makes a good case that only minor tweaks are needed.

Jack Iredale has already been confirmed as Wanderers’ first new signing of 2022/23 – but which positions will be next? And where is the budget best invested if Evatt is to achieve his ambition of leading the Whites into the Championship?

GOALKEEPER

If not James Trafford, then who else? Wanderers find themselves beholden to Manchester City’s will on the Cumbrian keeper, who exceeded all expectations last season.

Ian Evatt wants him to return on loan, City may want him to broaden his horizons, potentially play abroad. From a Bolton perspective, it is a helpless situation they could do without.

Having a stable ‘first choice’ goalkeeper from day one has not happened for a number of years. Trafford would be that man if he makes it back in time, meanwhile Joel Dixon may be the one Evatt turns to as the club makes its way through the summer.

Don’t rule out Luke Hutchinson, though. Folk at the academy speak highly of his chances and with regular football in the B Team this season he could be a valid option for cup games.

CENTRE-HALVES

Jack Iredale and George Johnston make up a good contingent of left-sided options, and likewise, Gethin Jones and Will Aimson the right. Ricardo Santos is a certain starter this season but with no Alex Baptiste, Evatt could be a tad light if he continues to play three centre-halves at a time.

The club captain aside, many fans have called for another dominant aerial presence at the back – although, in fairness, Wanderers’ record of 11 goals conceded in the air last season was marginally below the divisional average. They are also mid-table on the percentage of aerial duels they win.

If Wanderers do decide to bring in another defender, don’t expect it to be an agricultural head-it and kick-it type. Ball-playing skills are a given, as centre-halves in Evatt’s system are required to step out into midfield and progress play.

RIGHT WING-BACK

Kieran Sadlier was the preferred option in the last few games of the season and let nobody down.

It is clear, however, from Wanderers’ unwavering pursuit of Marlon Fossey that they are looking for a specialist and there is still confidence within the club that the Fulham defender will play next season in League One.

Both wing-back positions have become key positions and when both Fossey and Declan John were in form, Wanderers were flying. As with the goalkeeper situation, it may be that Evatt has to start this summer’s work without that piece of the puzzle in place.

Adam Senior will most likely stay at B Team level this year and Lloyd Isgrove is treading carefully on his way back from a bad hamstring injury.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD

Here is where it gets tricky, as with all options fit and available Evatt does have quite a lot of flexibility in midfield, able to play any combination of deep-lying and more progressive player.

If there is an area to be strengthened, perhaps competition for MJ Williams now that Andrew Tutte has stepped away from the first team scene?

The Liverpudlian is the most physically combative of the six from which Evatt could select but were he to succumb to injury, there is no obvious replacement.

We hope to see more Kyle Dempsey’s bustling energy this season, perhaps alongside a fit-again Kieran Lee who, on his day, is still the Rolls Royce of this Wanderers side.

Aaron Morley has started to mix that passing artistry with some defensive diligence and the infectiously enthusiastic George Thomason’s game is also benefiting from experience.

By the end of this year Wanderers should also have the international class of Josh Sheehan to add to the mix, which is an exciting prospect.

LEFT WING-BACK

Declan John finished strongly last term and though Iredale can also play the wider role, it is surely the Welshman’s to lose right now.

Though he had issues with form and injury in the first few months of last season, John blossomed more than most when Evatt’s switched back to wing-backs and allowed him to play more on the front foot.

Without Liam Gordon there is scope to sign a younger prospect, probably for B Team football. And Evatt does have the option of using the ever-versatile Sadlier.

ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS

Dapo Afolayan is starting to show he has the measure of the number 10 role and having him on the pitch allows Evatt to switch quickly to a front three if needed.

Kieran Sadlier offers the same options and we are yet to see much of him playing behind the strikers, which many say is his most effective position.

And is this the year we see Ronan Darcy flourish? The B Team option is there for him to play regular football but having spent most of last season out on loan competing at senior level, he is surely going to want to push on.

STRIKERS

Bolton are as well-stocked up front as they have been for a while, with Dion Charles, Amadou Bakayoko, Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Elias Kachunga all vying for places in a 3-4-1-2.

The team did not suffer greatly for goals, either, with Bakayoko grabbing a dozen alongside the deeper-lying Dapo Afolayan, and both Charles and Bodvarsson putting up reasonable numbers too after their arrival in January.

Looking at the stats for the whole of 2021/22, Wanderers lacked aerial presence in the opposition penalty box, registering 67 headed shots at goal. Only Morecambe, MK Dons, Lincoln City and Doncaster Rovers took fewer.

That is largely down to their style of play, however, and only a handful of sides – Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Oxford and Rotherham – had more touches of the ball in the opposition penalty box.

Xavier Amaechi’s return to Hamburg leaves the squad a tad short of attacking pace. Wanderers are thought to be looking for another loanee to tick that box.

This is a side that creates plenty of chances, and so it perhaps should not be so much of a surprise to see them linked to a player like James Collins, who has a proven track record of scoring 20-plus goals at this level of football, and whose work-rate would suit Evatt’s preferred pressing style.