Bolton captain Jay Spearing is heading out of the club on loan as Neil Lennon looks to sell to buy during the January transfer window.
Neil Lennon’s ongoing quest to strengthen his Bolton Wanderers squad is having to be built on a ‘sell to buy’ policy – with captain Jay Spearing leading an exodus from the Championship club.
Spearing has been out of favour since Lennon’s arrival, dropping down the midfield pecking order behind Neil Danns, the in-form Darren Pratley and even Liam Trotter. Indeed, Spearing hasn’t started a match since Bolton’s defeat at Norwich City on October 31st, and hasn’t even featured in a match in over a month.
The midfielder looks poised for a move to fellow Championship side Watford, which is a bit of a strange move given the Hertfordshire side are currently occupying a play-off place in sixth position. His fellow Wanderers midfielder is also due to confirm his exit from the club by joining Israeli side Maccabi Haifa this week.
These two moves come after the disappointing news that one-time hot prospect and Bolton youth academy product Joe Riley left the club permanently to join local rivals Bury. While fellow youth products Conor Wilkinson and Chris Lester are rumoured to be on the brink of joining Championship basement club Blackpool.
These transfer rumours are the supporting act to the ‘will he, won’t he’ circus act surrounding Chung-Yong Lee, who has been linked with a £1.5 million move away from the club – but they all play into the grander scheme of Neil Lennon needing to free up funds and wage budget to add new faces.
Lennon has spoken out publicly at his frustration over the lack of new signings, but he will be hoping that this week could prove to be the turning point – especially with the news that Wanderers’ FA Cup tie at Liverpool could earn them in excess of £400,000.
One thing for certain is that he will be keen to add some creativity to a side that is struggling to put teams away, as we saw against Leeds on Saturday. And those creativity prayers could well be answered in the form of Kris Commons, whose potential move south of the border has been rumoured yet again this week.
Several names have been linked with a move to the Macron, such as Manchester United’s Nick Powell which may not happen due to his wage demands. But Lennon will be keen to see activity step up before the transfer window closes on February 2nd.