Lincoln City defender Sean Roughan has emerged as a summer target for fellow League One outfit Bolton Wanderers, according to Football League World.
The 22-year-old emerged through the Imps academy, making his first appearance for the club in 2020. He has become an ever-present at the LNER Stadium in in recent years though and played every minute of their League One and FA Cup fixtures this season.
Comfortable at operating at left-back and centre-back, Roughan has racked up nearly 150 appearances for Michael Skubala’s team, which is a remarkable achievement for somebody his age. However, his existing deal is set to expire in the coming weeks, sparking rumours of an imminent exit.
Bolton Head Queue For Roughan Signature
It’s been another season to forget for Bolton. Having lost in last season’s play-off final, this was expected to be the year that they finally get out of the third tier. They suffered a huge hangover though and were always playing catch up, leading to the departure of Ian Evatt in January.
In came Steven Schumacher, who immediately sparked a revival at the Toughsheet Community Stadium. By March, they were in the top six. It all came crashing down from there though, winning just two of their last 11 games to finish eighth. Ironically, it was Lincoln who ended their play-off hopes with a 4-2 win at Sincil Bank last month.
Schumacher has already confirmed that he is looking for defensive reinforcements this summer, with only Barnsley conceding more goals in the top half of the table. It is claimed that Roughan has emerged as a top target and could look to make a move if he doesn’t extend his stay in the East Midlands.
Although the Republic of Ireland under-21 international would be a free agent, Lincoln would be due compensation should he decide his future lies elsewhere.
Writer’s View
Roughan has emerged as one of the brightest young talents in League One over the past couple of seasons. It’s unusual for a player of his age to be so experienced in this division and there are sure to be many clubs keeping a close eye on his situation. Lincoln will be desperate to keep hold of the defender though. Skubala has shown that he is his first name on the team sheet on a weekly basis. As for Bolton, they are a team which could hold an interest later down the line. However, this is likely to be nothing more than agent talk for the time being, with both clubs still letting the dust settle from their season finale last weekend.
