On Bolton’s little gem and his future
Zach Clough just netted his fourth and fifth goals against Watford and is a huge, huge talent.
We’ve seen many big talents before at Bolton, who have gone on to shine at international level- we only have to look at the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Jack Wilshere in recent years.
However, they were both on loan, and Zach Clough is our own player. We can continue to play him every match, giving him vital experience and confidence. However, my worry is that he’ll get burned out at too young an age à la Michael Owen.
I’m very confident that if anyone knows how to manage a talent like Clough it’s Lennon, however that is provided that SOMEONE does.
There is bound to be Premier League interest coming soon, as there is for fellow youngster Josh Vela- reportedly being monitored by Liverpool.
However, we’re not in a great financial state and money goes a very long way. Clough has impressed enormously since making his senior debut last month, and could well be the subject of interest from large clubs.
I follow quite closely Crewe Alexandra who are renowned for their youth policy, and being a small League 1 club often have to offload their talents such as Dean Ashton, Ashley Westwood, Nick Powell, Luke Murphy and Max Clayton in recent years (the latter joined us).
This is because of two reasons: 1- because players want to play at as high a level as possible and 2- because the club needs money.
We could afford to hold onto Clough, however we need to look at the consequences of both options.
If we keep him and he continues to play brilliantly, that’s great! Maybe we could sell him for even more is we were so inclined. He probably wants to play at a high level, but clearly loves Bolton and won’t be forcing a move away having recently signed a new contract.
However, what if his stock plummets à la Mark Davies and Chung Yong Lee- maybe Clough gets injured or enjoys a dry patch of form.
It really is a tough one, and it’ll be interesting how things develop and how he continues to mature and impress as a player this season.