An article from Jack Crosland ahead of the Salfordian midfielder’s first full season with the first team
This time last year, Josh Vela was told to train with the youth team, pay for his own match ticket, and that he was not good enough for the Bolton first team. A year on, the Bolton News` player of the previous campaign, he scored his first goal for Bolton in Friday`s friendly at Scunthorpe and is even modelling the new home kit alongside fellow youngsters Max Clayton and, of course, Zach Clough. There is a lot of excitement surrounding the ‘little man` after his, albeit too brief, arrival on the first team scene and rightly so. Ever since Clough delicately dinked the ball over ex-wanderer Ali Al-Habsi to seal an FA cup win against League 1 minnows Wigan Athletic the hype surrounding him has steadily escalated. Clough`s rise to fame however has somewhat clouded the re-emergence of Josh Vela who, after been given his Premier League debut by Owen Coyle at age 18, has had a much more arduous route to being a regular in the first team picture.
Before Neil Lennon arrived at the Macron, his predecessor Dougie Freedman had banished Vela to the football wilderness after he reportedly turned down the chance to go out on loan in favour of fighting for a place in the first team. Vela`s argument was that he had already proven himself whilst on loan in the previous campaign. Notts County`s great escape in the 2013-14 season was aided by the on loan Wanderers midfielder with results picking up for them almost immediately after installing Vela into their midfield. Rave reviews from County fans followed and it was expected that after proving he could cut it in League 1, we would see Josh finally cementing his place in Dougie`s plans. However, as so often with Mr Freedman, his opinion differed from the vast majority of the Bolton faithful. Josh Vela was set to be pushed out of the club he had played for since the age of 9.
The arrival of Neil Lennon was the start of a miraculous turnaround for the now 21-year-old midfielder. Lennon soon turned to Vela to plug the hole at the right side of the Wanderer`s defence. He seized his chance and became a regular in the unfamiliar right back position before being employed further forward in centre midfield. He went on to finish as the club`s runner up in the player of the year award and was named The Bolton New`s player of the year.
Vela adds to new skipper Darren Pratley, Neil Danns, Jay Spearing, Mark Davies and Liam Trotter as Neil Lennon`s options in the centre of midfield. More creative than any mentioned, aside from Mark Davies, but definitely more combative than ‘Sparky`, a lot is required from Josh if Bolton are to have a successful campaign. Goals, like the screamer at Scunthorpe, would be a welcome addition to the young midfielder`s game but even without troubling the scorers Vela displayed last season how influential he can be in his most natural position.
The 2015/16 campaign is undoubtedly Josh`s most important of his 12 in a Wanderer`s shirt. Lennon has showed a great deal of faith in the Salfordian, giving him his first consistent run of games for Wanderers and Vela, thus far, has rewarded his manager`s trust. In a season blighted by injuries, Vela was a rare positive with consistent impressive performances, whether he was employed as a right back or as a central midfielder. Now he must follow up a season which, in the words of Lennon, he can be ‘very proud of` with another solid campaign. Unlike Clough, Vela doesn`t seem to be burdened with carrying the weight of the fan`s expectance, something which is sure to aid him in his development into a key man in the Bolton team.