BY his own admission, Keanu Baccus was left upset by the circumstances that led to his abandoned move to Bolton Wanderers in the summer of 2023.

The Australia international midfielder was poised to make a £250,000 move from St Mirren, only for the deal to collapse over the course of a weekend.

Different reasons were offered at either end of negotiations for why Baccus stayed in Scotland for another season – concerns over a medical, a change in demands, or the fact Bolton shifted their sights to a couple of loan players in shape of West Brom’s Zac Ashworth and Brentford’s Paris Maghoma.

Either way, Baccus could run out at the Toughsheet Stadium in the League Cup tonight with something of a point to prove to the club which – to paraphrase his words 12 months ago – did not “really want” him, when push came to shove.

Mansfield made the 26-year-old one of their first signings of the summer after returning to the third tier. And Baccus showed his quality in Saturday’s 2-1 win at Barnsley, creating the second goal of the day for Lee Gregory.

Nigel Clough’s side finished third behind Stockport County and Wrexham in League Two last season, ending a two-decade-long run in the basement division, wrapped around a five-season spell in the National League.

Whilst Ian Evatt may look at tomorrow night’s League Cup clash as a chance to bring on the fitness of players like Chris Forino, Luke Southwood and George Johnston, or give crucial game time to Aaron Morley and Dan Nlundulu, the Stags do not have the depth of squad to consider major changes and will be asking the team which performed so well at Oakwell to go again.

Few will be more motivated than Baccus, who had been one of the more exotic targets of last summer.

Born in South Africa, he moved to Western Sydney before his first birthday and went on to become a bona fide hometown hero, making more than 100 A League appearances for the Warriors before deciding to move to Europe.

He enjoyed a strong start in the Scottish Premiership and was selected for the Socceroos at the 2022 World Cup finals, making four appearances and attracting more interest from around Europe during the winter window, reportedly including Greek giants AEK Athens and Belgian side Gent.

No bids materialised in January but reports north of the border were unequivocal in their view that Wanderers had beaten a clutch of English clubs to sign Baccus last June. Closer to home, there had been confirmation that talks had occurred but a firm stress on the fact no deal had been finalised.

News that the midfielder definitely would not be on his way dropped at exactly the same time that Bolton shelved their interest in another long-term target, wing-back Kane Wilson, who eventually signed for Derby County from Bristol City.

In both cases Evatt and Wanderers held their silence but reading between the lines, Baccus had missed the end of the previous season with a knee problem and all signs pointed to this being the issue that cooled their interest. Common consensus was that Bolton had erred on the side of caution.

Speaking last summer as he prepared to make his playing return, Baccus said: “The move didn’t really go too smoothly and I’ve learned from situations in the past when things go smoothly that’s where you’re meant to be and vice versa.

“Nothing against Bolton at all, but I’ve learned when a team really wants you they’ll do most things to make it happen.

“I was upset for a week but I’m over that now and I’m grateful to be at St Mirren and for the way the club have treated me.

“I’m keen to just keep going here now for however long that might be.

“We’ll see what the future holds and I’m sure the right opportunity will present itself at some stage.

“But for now I’m happy to be settled here and back playing injury-free.”

Baccus started 21 of 45 games in all competitions for St Mirren last season, scoring three times. He did make 48 appearances in total for club and country but, counting league games only, he featured for just 54 per cent of the total playing time, a total bettered by nine other team-mates.