Summer scouting: Bolton Wanderers centre-halves examined

Chairman Sharon Brittan said that the club means business next season and that the playing budget being offered to the manager will be bigger than ever before.

But does that mean a big overhaul is on the cards? Or will Evatt and sporting director Chris Markham stick to their usual policy of slow and steady squad building?

Despite taking a very respectable 87 points last season, Wanderers still fell short of their automatic promotion target by five points. And they failed to make the most of a second chance offered by the play-offs with an ignominious display at Wembley against Oxford United.

‘Change’ was instantly the word on the manager’s lips. The board have pledged a stronger playing budget and the club have instigated a “root and branch” review of all departments to see what improvements can be made to avoid disappointment next year.

June is usually the quietest time for football clubs as holidays are taken and schedules prepared before the players return at the end of the month for fitness testing.

We have decided to break down the Bolton squad, position by position, to see which areas may need to be strengthened next season – and suggested a few players in the market, or who may have been of interest in recent years.

We continue with the central defenders.

Ricardo Santos is in the final year of his current Bolton contract (Image: Camerasport)

RICARDO SANTOS

Though nobody escaped the fans’ wrath after the play-off final, that aimed at the club captain has been especially strong. It has been suggested in some quarters that Evatt should hand the armband to someone else, or even that he should cash-in on the defender with 12 months left on his contract. Some national newspaper reports even claimed that Santos would be moving on this summer regardless of what had happened at Wembley.

Cutting through to what is fair criticism of the 28-year-old is not a simple task, as he led the way on just about every defensive metric possible among Bolton defenders last season.

His record for defending in the air and on the ground, one v one, stands up to most of his peers in League One, as does his passing accuracy, blocks and clearances.

So why then should the Bolton boss even be considering changing a player who has been first choice, when available, for the last four seasons?

Part of the frustration seems to stem from the style of football Evatt employs, which pushes his centre-halves to play out from the back and, usually, see more of the ball than anyone else on the pitch.

Bolton had the joint-third most passes per sequence of possession in League One last season, with both Wigan and Peterborough typically spending longer on the ball. In terms of direct speed – i.e. how fast a team progresses the ball up the field – Wanderers were second-slowest to Wigan, and that has not always been met with satisfaction from parts of the fanbase.

With the ball, Santos sees more possession than most, and his ability to play alone as last man gives Evatt the chance to push more men into attack.

One can argue that his natural game was compromised by a calf injury suffered early in the year, and that time lost to injury has increased in the last couple of seasons. But it remains a very reliable statement to suggest when Santos is playing well, so are Bolton.

In short, the Portuguese defender has become intrinsically linked with the game Evatt wants to play so if either the player or manager decides to change that relationship this summer, the impact would be considerable.

Gethin Jones made a breakthrough at international level last season (Image: Camerasport)

GETHIN JONES

The vice-captain has his critics, like Santos, and has found them hard to shift after a season in which he became a fully-fledged international for Australia and topped more than 150 career games for the club.

Jones did not produce as high a return as Santos or Eoin Toal in the air, or in possession, but other areas of his defending – interceptions and blocks – do compare favourably in the squad. He is considered a defensive organiser who brings more out of the players around him but the signing of Chris Forino and George Johnston’s return does raise big questions about his claim for a starting place.

GEORGE JOHNSTON

Before his injury Johnston was one of Bolton’s biggest assets and one destined to play Championship football sooner rather than later. It will be interesting now to see where he picks up and whether he can instantly reclaim his place on the left side of the three and force Toal to play elsewhere.

JACK IREDALE

Technically, one of Bolton’s better defenders, and also one with an enviable passing range who returns decent aerial stats too, but the addition of extra competition at centre-back might mean left wing-back is once again Iredale’s best bet of regular football this season.

WILL FORRESTER

The public clamour for Forrester to get more game time last season was there for all to see. Age is on his side, and he is an excellent penalty box defender, but does he have the trust of Evatt to play regularly outside of the cup competitions or against the most direct opponents?

Eoin Toal made himself a first team regular at Wanderers (Image: Camerasport)

EOIN TOAL

Very quickly got himself up to speed to the degree that he is rivalling Santos’s defensive stats despite being shifted to the left side of the three in Johnston’s absence last season.

Looked knackered towards the end of the campaign and has also carried on playing for Northern Ireland, which might present an opportunity to blood Forino early in pre-season and give him a little more time to recover.

No question that Toal will be part of the first team plan next season, however, despite some question marks hanging around the rest.

DO WANDERERS NEED A NEW CENTRE-HALF?

The addition of Forino from Wycombe theoretically plugs the gap left by Caleb Taylor returning to West Brom, so the question now becomes whether there will be a surprise clear-out at Wanderers, or whether Evatt will keep with his tried and trusted.

The captaincy may be a separate issue – but to move Santos, or Jones, on at this stage would be a truly seismic move for the Bolton boss, even if his side shipped more goals last season than they did the one before.

Evatt will be desperate to get Johnston back firing again, which gives him more options against the different styles League One brings, but there are no guarantees after a serious injury and Forino may well play a bigger part than people expect early on.

Caleb Taylor had limited chances last season - but could he be talked into a return? (Image: Camerasport)

WHAT’S OUT THERE?

Just for fun we looked at a few players with impressive stats from last season – so how about 20-year-old Brad Hills, who was an overwhelming success at Accrington Stanley on loan from Norwich City.

Caleb Taylor had little chance to show his best at Wanderers last season, would another, longer loan deal give him that opportunity? He was brought in because his skillset was similar to Santos, so could he be called upon again?

Or if we are looking for someone more experienced, how about Sheffield Wednesday’s Dominic Iorfa, who knows his way out of League One and played football in the Championship last season?