Are Bolton Wanderers set to make silent promotion statement?

Call it brazen, call it confident, call it deluded if you want, Bolton’s chase for a top two spot was a very public discussion point from the moment Ian Evatt walked off the pitch at Barnsley as a beaten play-off semi-finalist in May 2023.

Automatic promotion became a mantra recited endlessly by manager, chairman, players and supporters for close to a year, even when evidence on the pitch pointed to the contrary. And it existed as a stick with which Wanderers could beat themselves long after flags and scarves were dumped in the bins on Wembley Way, the last chance saloon closed for Oxford United’s private party.

Defeat on May 18 – and, yes, the date still resonates with sufficient oomph that it needs no further context – was a humbling experience. It could yet be a healing one, too.

Wanderers missed out on that initial target by five points, not a huge shortfall in the grand scheme. One might argue their fate flipped in an undeserved defeat at Derby County in March which granted Paul Warne’s gritty Rams a six-point swing. Success after that point felt theoretical, snookers needed.

Wanderers players sampled heart-breaking defeat in the play-off final (Image: PA)

Regardless of how much Evatt and his squad discussed ‘resetting’ between the final day draw at Peterborough United and their nail-biting two-legged revenge mission against Barnsley, the nagging disappointment had already struck. As good as it would have felt at the time, going up via the play-offs would still have felt a little like sneaking in the back door.

“We're not going to make any claims about what we need to do, or how we need to do it, or where we need to finish,” Evatt announced after Saturday’s behind-closed-doors victory against West Brom, in what approximated an antithesis of that post-match speech at Oakwell.

Whether the club’s aims are shouted from the rooftop of the Toughsheet Stadium or kept confidentially within its confines, there is an unspoken acceptance that this is a crucial season for all involved.

Wanderers have diverted resources towards strengthening the team, so with 10 players out of contract next summer and the manager only able to continue an impressive upward trajectory of league finishes by ending up first or second, there is a clear sense of finality about what is to come. The pressure does not disappear, nor does the expectation to lift this club out of the second-longest spell outside the top two divisions in its history, but perhaps making the grand plan less visible will help focus minds.

It was an approach that seemed to work well for title-winners Portsmouth last season, Jon Mousinho’s team coasting first place without ever really making a ripple on the national scale. Runners-up Derby had existed in a state of perma-panic before finding consistency and strength in the final few months to see the job through, and Oxford? Well, Des Buckingham’s men aced the exam having been C-grade students for the most part.

Even being the most bombastic team in this season’s League One could prove a difficult task, with Birmingham City making it known in a blaze of headlines that their £20million transfer war chest is designed to make their stay a short one.

The two other relegated clubs, Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United, have fallen with a little more grace, but that is not to say they have not already recruited impressively.

The big questions aimed at Evatt and Bolton this summer was what controllable factors stopped them reaching their goal last season, and what aftershocks would be felt after Wembley’s seismic disappointment?

We may not truly know the answer to the second part until the season gets underway properly but confirmed transfer deals in the past couple of months have given some hint as to the future direction of the team.

Luke Southwood’s arrival from Cheltenham Town pushes the bar higher in the goalkeeping department. Opinions range as to how culpable Joel Coleman was when called upon as a back-up to the injured Nathan Baxter but bringing in a player who has been first choice at his club for the last two seasons is an unequivocal hint as to where Evatt’s thoughts lie.

Ex-Wycombe man Chris Forino has all the hallmarks of a classic ‘Evatt Era’ defender, and hopefully brings with him some tips and tricks from his old club, who have been notoriously strong from set pieces for many years now.

Klaidi Lolos enjoyed the best season of his career to date at Crawley and arrives as somewhat of a wildcard. Able to play as an attacking midfielder or in the forward positions, he gives Bolton some tactical options, should they choose to take them.

Scott Arfield could add some street-smarts to the Bolton midfield (Image: PA)

But the signing of Scott Arfield, who had seemingly been winding up his career in MLS with Charlotte FC, is perhaps the first piece of solid confirmation that the team who missed out last term will not simply be put straight back into bat again.

Though 35, the former Burnley and Rangers midfielder has the sort of street smarts once supplied by Kieran Lee, a player still regarded by many as the most important signing Evatt has made in four years at the club. Arfield’s helps settle an uneasy feeling that this Bolton side is – for want of better words – too nice, and that naivety has cost them on some of the biggest occasions they have faced.

It might not come from Evatt’s lips, but we are waiting for the real promotion statement. And a glance towards some of the deals Wanderers are now trying to get done indicates just how serious they are about improving their lot.

Karamoko Dembele in action for Blackpool against Wanderers last season (Image: Camerasport)

Moves to bring in Brest midfielder Karamoko Dembele and Luton Town striker John McAtee are in motion, Kilmarnock’s Danny Armstrong remains a viable target and though a deal Peterborough United’s Joel Randall now looks unlikely, you must admire Bolton’s chutzpah for approaching a direct promotion rival for one of their most influential players.

Dembele and McAtee were prime performers on loan at Blackpool and Barnsley last season and “significant” offers have been made for both, creating a pleasingly excitable buzz around a Wanderers fanbase which has remained suitably sceptical of late.

Bolton are still relatively new to this long-form version of the transfer game, where enquiries, bids and counter-offers string out across weeks and sometimes months. Dealing with unwilling sellers in a crowded auction room can be a time consuming and patience-thinning exercise.

For several years they had shopped from the Aldi Middle Aisle of free agents and loanees, and even in more recent times the recruitment has been geared towards gradual, manageable improvement, rather than ground-breaking signings; here we are dealing with the latter.

Wanderers may be about to prove their promotion plan beyond any reasonable doubt, without saying a word.

Wanderers have lodged a bid for Luton Town's John McAtee (Image: PA)