VERY few Bolton Wanderers players can be summed up by a single adjective.

‘Super’ would lead most fans to think of John McGinlay or Kevin Davies, whilst ‘Sexy’ would lead folk firmly in the direction of Kieran Lee.

The flashy nickname came from the Bolton supporters at a time when they were confined to watching their heroes through a TV or a laptop screen in lockdown, and Lee’s cultured midfield game brightened up those worrying times.

It bears repeating that Wanderers managed to secure Lee’s services at a time when they were still 20th in League Two.

Released by Sheffield Wednesday after nine years of distinguished service, the former Manchester United man has since admitted that Ian Evatt’s offer and Bolton’s need for a creator in the middle of the park just happened to come along at the perfect time. But one wonders what might have happened that season had decided to wait for an offer from a higher league and moved elsewhere?

Whereas other January 2021 signings like MJ Williams, Dapo Afolayan and Declan John made an impact, Lee was a different gravy, getting immediately to grips with Evatt’s tactical plan.

Wanderers worked closely with Lee to manage his training schedules and recovery to ensure a long-standing hip problem was kept in check along with the other ailments which came with being a box-to-box midfielder in his thirties.

What the Whites and their followers would have given to shave several years off that birth certificate – but as Evatt himself so astutely put it at the time: “A 25-year-old Kieran Lee wouldn’t be playing for Bolton in this division.”

Though Lee was routinely described as a “Rolls Royce” or other such superlatives, there was also a realisation among the fanbase that time would eventually catch up.

He started just 24 games on the club’s return to League One and though there were some masterclasses therein – the two goals at Charlton, the opener against Ipswich and his role in the 6-0 hammering of Sunderland the stand-outs – another lengthy absence to cure a bone spur on his heel raised some doubts about whether he could go again.

Playing through the pain, he managed 26 starts among 41 appearances this season. And his influence was sorely missed in the latter stages when those substitute cameos became less frequent. Once the play-off dream had ended and Evatt began to talk about a squad refurbishment, the chances of him staying for a fourth season started to look remote.

It is a shame that Lee’s last appearance came in defeat at Barnsley. He joins a list of treasured names who never got the proper farewell in front of the Wanderers fans – but then he probably would have shunned the attention, anyhow.

He will turn 35 next month and surely has enough football left in him to make his experience count elsewhere.

Wanderers will begin a search for that elusive ‘younger version’ – a player who has the same tactical nous and football intelligence but who may be able to eat through more midweek games and be a mainstay in Evatt’s starting XI.

For all their improvement this season, the Whites were still some way from being automatic promotion contenders, and bridging that gap will be their summer target; a costly pursuit indeed.

What chance another bargain like Lee should pop up in the coming weeks?