Bolton Wanderers are in the market for a new centre-forward before the January transfer window closes and have identified a player in the Championship as the perfect man to bolster their attack, according to reports.
Ian Evatt’s side have had a terrific season so far and even managed to hold off Premier League outfit Luton Town at Kenilworth Road on Sunday to book a valuable replay next Tuesday at the Toughsheet Community Stadium against the Hatters in the FA Cup.
The Trotters are currently sitting second in League One this season, two points behind leaders Portsmouth but with two games in hand to play on Pompey, meaning Bolton could possibly take the top spot over the coming weeks.
Furthermore, Bolton Wanderers boast the second-best attack in England’s third tier, having scored 45 goals across 24 matches. Only Peterborough United have managed to find the net more times. Additionally, centre-forward Dion Charles has bagged 13 goals in League One and is the joint-fifth top scorer in the division.
Nevertheless, head coach Evatt is keen to add more firepower to a blistering forward line and is eyeing up Blackburn Rovers striker Niall Ennis, according to journalist Alan Nixon on his exclusive Patreon. Nixon is claiming that Bolton will battle it out with League One promotion rivals Barnsley and Charlton Athletic for the frontman’s signature this winter.
Ennis has struggled for game-time at Ewood Park this season, partly due to injury problems. The 24-year-old has played merely 424 minutes for Rovers this campaign, spread across 12 appearances which comes to roughly 32.6 minutes on average per match.
Nevertheless, Ennis can still chip in with his fair share of goals and assists. In his professional career, the centre-forward has recorded 49 goal contributions in total and has been most fruitful in League One, bagging 44 goal contributions in 126 games in the third division.
Writer’s View
This could be a good move for all parties. Ennis clearly isn’t fancied by Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson and has struggled to find his form in the Championship, failing to score a single goal in the second tier.
However, League One is a level where he is a proven goalscorer and chance creator and Bolton could potentially make a deal happen for a decent price, given his market value is between £429k-773k, as per Football Transfers.