January 2023 Transfer Window

[Mar]

I'm hoping we find another keeper in this next window. One who can genuinely fight for the spot. Not sure city will loan us Trafford again. Hopefully but can't see it so rather than leave it till summer, see whose available now for cover.

[truewhite15]

I think the Trafford situation depends on where we are. He's impressed in a League One side this season - I think it likely that City will probably want him in a Championship side next season to continue his progression. If we're a Championship side at that point, I'd put us in pole position - he'd benefit from a familiar environment, just a step upwards. If we don't get promoted, however, I think it extremely unlikely that we'll get him again.

Similar situation with Bradley - although, given his progression, there could well be Premier League sides thinking of taking a punt on him in the summer...

[Harry Genshaw]

Agree with that tw. Bradley's an interesting one. In his early days, I'd have said he'd be in Liverpools first team squad next season. Now, much as I like and rate the lad, there's no way he's having a career at Anfield. I'd not be surprised to see a championship side come in for him in the summer.

[BWFC_Insane]

Trafford could easily play in the top flight in the next few years. Bradley I cannot see it. He’s not polished enough and after an amazing start looks distinctly ‘good league one’ player to me.

[boltonboris]

Jeez, he's a only 20!!

[truewhite15]

Trafford could easily play in the top flight in the next few years. Bradley I cannot see it. He’s not polished enough and after an amazing start looks distinctly ‘good league one’ player to me.

Having scored, what, 5, 6 goals? From RWB this season so far alone, and then include his goal imvolvements, I suspect many around the football pyramid will probably disagree with you.

But then, he's not a mop-haired backflipping Yank, so I'd expect nothing less.

[Mar]

I think the Trafford situation depends on where we are. He's impressed in a League One side this season - I think it likely that City will probably want him in a Championship side next season to continue his progression. If we're a Championship side at that point, I'd put us in pole position - he'd benefit from a familiar environment, just a step upwards. If we don't get promoted, however, I think it extremely unlikely that we'll get him again.

Similar situation with Bradley - although, given his progression, there could well be Premier League sides thinking of taking a punt on him in the summer...

I understand that. I guess if we're promoted then that'll be good for keeping him. If not there's always the desire for Trafford to stay here and given the saves he's making possibly showing his skills off more than sides that don't play our style of football (less ball out from the back).

Trafford could easily play in the top flight in the next few years. Bradley I cannot see it. He’s not polished enough and after an amazing start looks distinctly ‘good league one’ player to me.

Having scored, what, 5, 6 goals? From RWB this season so far alone, and then include his goal imvolvements, I suspect many around the football pyramid will probably disagree with you.

But then, he's not a mop-haired backflipping Yank, so I'd expect nothing less.

Maybe he's just shifting targets now that Charles has started scoring again. Bradley doesn't look at the same high standard he set early on but he's still coming across as good and the stats bear fruit with that too.

[Worthy4England]

Trafford could easily play in the top flight in the next few years. Bradley I cannot see it. He’s not polished enough and after an amazing start looks distinctly ‘good league one’ player to me.

Having scored, what, 5, 6 goals? From RWB this season so far alone, and then include his goal imvolvements, I suspect many around the football pyramid will probably disagree with you.

But then, he's not a mop-haired backflipping Yank, so I'd expect nothing less.

Yeah. I'm with this. My Internet pint bet is that Bradley will end up playing at a higher level than Fossey...

[TANGODANCER]

Yeah. I'm with this. My Internet pint bet is that Bradley will end up playing at a higher level than Fossey...

Fossey's at a high level already, but he's unlikely to go higher and he's 24 whereas Bradley is twenty. That said, if Bradley finishes up as good as Fossey, I won't complain.

Fossey has played four games for Standard Liege and scored one goal.

[BWFC_Insane]

Trafford could easily play in the top flight in the next few years. Bradley I cannot see it. He’s not polished enough and after an amazing start looks distinctly ‘good league one’ player to me.

Having scored, what, 5, 6 goals? From RWB this season so far alone, and then include his goal imvolvements, I suspect many around the football pyramid will probably disagree with you.

But then, he's not a mop-haired backflipping Yank, so I'd expect nothing less.

He will have to improve considerably for him to be seen as a premiership player. He’s 20.I’d want to see him as standout at this level week in week out if he’s headed for that level imminently and frankly he’s not.

And he’s not as good as Fossey who hasn’t played premiership football either so I’m not sure what your point is.

[The_Gun]

Bradley actually only turned 19 in the summer. He’s not the finished article yet, but given what he’s shown so far I’d be surprised if he didn’t end up at least being a decent Championship player.

[Prufrock]

Jeez, he's a only 20!!

He's 19 until he's 20.

The lad will be a Premier League player, as will Trafford.

I'd have thought both City and Liverpool have eyes on them as possibles, but a long way to go from here to get to that very very top level.

[BWFC_Insane]

Bradley actually only turned 19 in the summer. He’s not the finished article yet, but given what he’s shown so far I’d be surprised if he didn’t end up at least being a decent Championship player.

He could become a premiership player. But there is work to do for that. Right now he’s not at that level that’s the point I’m making. He’s a good league one player. Probably could adapt to the championship with a year or two of development.

[TANGODANCER]

Bradley actually only turned 19 in the summer. He’s not the finished article yet, but given what he’s shown so far I’d be surprised if he didn’t end up at least being a decent Championship player.

He could become a premiership player. But there is work to do for that. Right now he’s not at that level that’s the point I’m making. He’s a good league one player. Probably could adapt to the championship with a year or two of development.

Not to forget we're Bolton Wanderers and still very much Division One and watching the pennies. Ambition is fine, common sense better. Let's get promoted first. Festina Lente..

[Worthy4England]

Yeah. I'm with this. My Internet pint bet is that Bradley will end up playing at a higher level than Fossey...

Fossey's at a high level already, but he's unlikely to go higher and he's 24 whereas Bradley is twenty. That said, if Bradley finishes up as good as Fossey, I won't complain.

Fossey has played four games for Standard Liege and scored one goal.

If Bradley ends up as good as Fossey, he'll be gutted. Long way to go, yet though...

[boltonboris]

Jeez, he's a only 20!!

He's 19 until he's 20.

The lad will be a Premier League player, as will Trafford.

I'd have thought both City and Liverpool have eyes on them as possibles, but a long way to go from here to get to that very very top level.

He's closer to 20 than he is 19!

(To be fair, didn't know he was still 19 - Thought he was 20 [actually 20])

[irie Cee Bee]

Bradley is a very talented boy and has turned out to be our main attacking threat. I expect him to play in the premiership at some point just like I expected Antonee Robinson to do when he played for us at 20, and in my mind, he was not as good as Bradley is at this age.

Connor needs to develop physically, no doubt about that as he loses most of the physical battles at the moment against men twice his size. That will come with time. An outstanding talent.

[Bruce Rioja]

Maybe Bradley might play better amongst better players and with better coaching? He's hardly doing badly FFS!

[boltonboris]

Maybe Bradley might play better amongst better players and with better coaching? He's hardly doing badly FFS!

I know! He goes home and he's Van Dijk alongside him, Salah ahead of him and Thiago looking for the ball from him

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

This could be a big transfer window in which not much happens.

If that seems weird, consider the circumstances. Bolton are fifth in the third tier, their best position since Theresa May was PM. Ian Evatt has, by recent standards, a squad that is deep as well as wide; beyond the first XI, he’s no longer relying on a Gordon or a Brockbank, let alone a Greenidge or a Hickman. In fact, there’s no obvious “first XI,” which sounds like it might be a bad thing until you actually think about it.

Looking at our current squad, there is nobody about whom it could reasonably be argued that they don’t deserve to be a third-tier footballer, with the possible exception of the doomed Dixon. They’re all players with either considerable experience in this division or enough promise to warrant discussion (not just the loanees but Toal and Thomason, among others). There aren’t many screamingly obvious candidates for improvement.

But all squads must evolve or stagnate, and the lack of obvious holes to fill means Evatt and Chris Markham can concentrate on the second part of the Prufrock Formula (upgrade the squad’s worst players, upgrade the team’s best players). Trouble is, that’s easier said that done. It’s fairly simple to conduct a supermarket sweep of all available players, but rather harder to recruit the best ones.

That’s why it will be a quieter, and therefore perhaps more worrying, window for Wanderers. Gone are the near-daily signings of summer 2020 (18 permanent, 3 loans), the remedial measures of January 2021 (2 permanent, 6 loans), the tier-up transition of summer 2021 (8 permanent, 1 loan) or the expedited acquisitions of January 2022 (5 permanent, 2 loans). Contrasted to those mass arrivals, this window is far more likely to resemble last summer, in which – discounting the flurry of B-teamers – Bolton only signed Iredale and Toal on permanents, along with three loanees from the country’s top two clubs.

The quietness wasn't be desire or design: Evatt wanted more last summer. One notable refusenik was Jack Tucker (who, interestingly, was dropped from MK Dons’ league side for a month after failing, by his own admission, to adapt to his new team's possession-based style). Marlon Fossey is an argument box best left unopened, while Matt Butcher has played in 22 of table-topping Plymouth’s 23 league games (starting 17) after allegedly eschewing a move across Lancashire. Clearly Wanderers have their cost ceilings.

They are also now competing in a much tougher market. Of the eight or so sides widely predicted to target promotion, only MK have failed to turn up; Pompey, in 11th but only 5pts off the play-offs, have multiple games in hand and have lost fewer than all but the top three, although they need to turn draws into losses. And how are they going to do that? By seeking better players in the transfer window, like everybody else up there.

Just as the spending of the Premier League has extended into the less than sensibly run Championship clubs, which is to say almost all of them, so the Championship now affects League One. It’s no coincidence that with the exception of Plymouth – whose goalkeeper Michael Cooper is having a superb season behind a defence allowing almost relegation-level number of shots – all the other top-eight clubs have been in the second tier as recently as 2019, and all of them would regard this division as below them. But they can’t all fit in the lift.

So in the already straitened, complex, hard-fought January transfer market, Wanderers will find themselves fishing in the same pool as several rivals of similar stature; as much fun as it is to note that Bolton Are Massive everywhere we go, we're no longer sleeping giants in Lilliput. We're just another club in a last-orders bunfight at the bar.

And we can't just be ordering cooking lager, either. Because this window doesn’t feel like the time to mop up a Good Lad from a Rochdale or a Gillingham or an Accy, or to take a chance on an Irish Leaguer. It might not even be the time to hire another young gun destined for the top.

What Wanderers need this window is the addition of players who are not just proven at the next level, but good enough to drag their team-mates up there with them. Players who can replicate the spring 2021 effect of Kieran Lee, Declan John and MJ Williams. And how many of them exist? How many of them are available? How many of them will be unwanted by Sheffield Wednesday, or a Derby determined to back Paul Warne, or a Barnsley or Peterborough worried that repromotion might require deeper digging than they thought?