Bolton Wanderers boss Ian Evatt has revealed that the club are still working hard to bring in more new recruits before the start of the season.
The Trotters completed their fourth signing of the summer on Friday when veteran Scott Arfield arrived at the Toughsheet Community Stadium. It was Bolton’s second addition to the midfield following Chris Forino’s move from Wycombe Wanderers, whilst goalkeeper Luke Southwood and attacker Klaidi Lolos have also bolstered Evatt’s options.
After last season’s disappointment, where the club narrowly missed out on automatic promotion before losing in the play-off final, the upcoming campaign is seen by some as make-or-break for the manager. However, with the likes of Birmingham City, Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town coming down from the Championship, League One is arguably tougher than ever.
The transfer budget of Birmingham in particular has made the headlines over the past month as the Blues target instant promotion. Rotherham have already acquired a host of free transfers whilst Huddersfield are closing in on a £1 million expenditure so far this summer.
As a result, chair Sharon Brittan confirmed last month that there are funds available to boost the squad this summer:
“Ian (Evatt) and Chris (Markham) excel in what they do. They certainly couldn’t put any more into it than they do. They both care hugely, they are incredibly respectful of money, of the way I run the business, they don’t make demands, they work within the parameters that me and the board offer them.
“We accept this season from a financial standpoint we will have to increase the investment to make sure we are up there, we are competitive. But I have to caveat that – because we were almost there, last season. Almost isn’t good enough but we were nearly there with the fifth biggest budget in League One, and that is because of how smart they work.”
Bolton kicked off their pre-season campaign yesterday with a 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion, although were without a host of first team stars. Following the game, Evatt confirmed that work is still being done on the recruitment side. Speaking to The Bolton News, he said:
“We are light. We are working very hard to bring more players in. Scotty (Arfield) joined yesterday, which is great and will add to us, and myself and Chris (Markham) are working hard all the time on the recruitment front.
“But we’ve evolved and changed on this journey. I think we’ve done really well in recent years in the free transfer market and the loan market but we’re now moving on to buying players to improve our 11.
“When you’re looking to buy players, predominantly these players are very good players at their parent club so they don’t want to lose them, or they hang on to them, and negotiations are sometimes drawn out and difficult.
“We’re just trying to be patient. Normally we return for pre-season and the majority of the squad is finalised. That’s not the case this year, so we just need to be more fluid.
“There’s lots of hard work going on behind the scenes but come the first game of the season, hopefully those bodies will be in and we’ll be ready.”
Writer’s View
League One will be as competitive as ever next season. Aside from the three relegated clubs from the Championship, there are already existing strong teams such as Peterborough United and Lincoln City, a Charlton Athletic side which will be stronger than last season, and those coming up from League Two such as Stockport County and Wrexham. With so many quality teams fighting it out for just three promotion places, there is little room for error.
Bolton almost sacrificed the end of last season when automatic promotion looked to be beyond them, gambling on the play-offs. They ultimately fell at the last hurdle, making this season imperative. Although work is going on with transfers, there is now less than four weeks until the start of the season. Evatt will be hoping that all business is done before then to ensure the strongest possible start.
Head of Writing
