Tomorrow sees the opening of the January transfer window and for Bolton it might be the most signficant one we’ve had in a while.
Nothing is confirmed until the player is holding up their scarf and all that, but it does look like for the first time since the summer of 2018, we may sign a player for a transfer fee. Dion Charles, out of contract at Accrington Stanley next summer, is expected to join early in the window as they look to cash in now. He scored 19 goals last season in League One but has been frozen out with no return unless he signed a new deal. He can play wide but also in the middle, and if he gets the service (and he should) then he should score goals – the only worry is his match fitness having not played club football since September.
However, it looks like Eoin Doyle could be off, there appear to be legs in him leaving to go back to Ireland to play for St. Patrick’s Athletic. Back in April he gave an interview to Irish radio where he hoped Bolton would be his last club in England, although if the move happens now it would be 18 months earlier than expected, given his contract situation.
If that does happen, it might mean we could do with another striker on top of Charles and Amadou Bakayoko, Cole Stockton’s name has come up a lot, and unlike Charles he has goalscoring form this season, but it seems almost impossible we’ll get both.
Midfield is another area where we will need to look at – especially with Josh Sheehan out and Antoni Sarcevic’s October departure. Anthony Hartigan has been long-touted with a move up north from Wimbledon, the young midfielder has assumed more responsibility for his current club and is good with set-pieces, he has been allowed to get forward more of late too.
Arguably we need a minimum of two midfielders in the window, maybe even three. Whether some of our signings come via loans from top academies is another route.
Other positions in the squad aren’t as pressing – Xavier Amaechi will miss Rotherham tomorrow but a deal has been reached with Hamburg to keep him with us for the rest of the season, but will need international clearance before he can play again. Some would argue another goalkeeper is needed, Joel Dixon hasn’t convinced everybody, but even then meaningful competition (no offence to the aging Matt Gilks) would be nice. Having said that, the midfield and striker are the main priorities.