Transfer Gossip

[Mantra]

Hope someone is fizzing balls at him in Portugal to work on his first touch.

He can be a success with us but needs polishing

[Johnnyrotten]

5 hours ago, barrycowdrill said:

Some big budgets in L2 next season. Not discounting the obvious Wrexham fairytale. Fighting their way back in to the league against all odds.. 

Yes, glad we weren't in that division at the same time as Wrexham, Notts County, Stockport, Gillingham.  Not to mention "Mark Hughes Bradford" and MK Dons.  Morecambe were in L1 last season but are 80/1 to win it.   Accy and FGR both 33/1 surprisingly.  Tough league to call, thank god those days are behind us.

[Whitesince63]

Tykes fans not pleased over here, Mads Andersen having his medical at Luton today so the exodus begins. Still no sign of a manager yet so I wonder if we could score with a cheeky offer for Luca?

[tomski]

41 minutes ago, Whitesince63 said:

Tykes fans not pleased over here, Mads Andersen having his medical at Luton today so the exodus begins. Still no sign of a manager yet so I wonder if we could score with a cheeky offer for Luca?

No more ex players they were all shit in the last decade.

[Wanderlust]

Always liked Luca, was pissed off when Celtic nicked him but he's one of the few kids from that era that have done really well. Now he's physically developed he's turned into an excellent L1, possibly Championship player at a push.

Yes we could do with a player like him to compete in midfield and make the killer passes but I think he's reached his level and if we're going to push on up the leagues we should be looking for players with more potential/quality.

And when you consider the names we've been linked to, it seems that Evatt is thinking that way too.

[gonzo]

Lets get Zach Clough back

[Zico]

3 hours ago, Cheese said:

IAN Evatt’s first Bolton Wanderers squad was constructed in the most unusual circumstances – a hotch-potch of freebies assembled under restrictive salary cap rules at the height of a global pandemic.

The regulations, it turned out, were not worth the paper on which they were written and scrapped several months later after being deemed “unlawful” by the PFA. And of the procession of players signed and trialled in the summer of 2020, many went the same way.

Over the past couple of years, the way Wanderers have recruited has changed dramatically. Chris Markham’s influence, and that of his analysis department, has been clear, and the club has slowly started to move away from the free agent market to target players contracted to other clubs.

Ian Evatt celebrates his third anniversary as manager on Saturday with the club arguably in the strongest financial position since he came to the club.

The backing of Football Ventures, boosted by a successful bond scheme, gives the Bolton boss more funds at his disposal than ever before – a far cry from those early days of scrabbling around for players displaced in lockdown.

That is not to say this brand-new world is not without problems, though, and Evatt has found in the last week that complications can still arise.

Having gone way down the line in his attempts to sign Kane Wilson from Bristol City and Keanu Baccus from St Mirren the club decided against the deal, finding something in their ‘due diligence’ that made then unwilling to part with the money.

In both cases, those around the deal presented conflicting reasons for it breaking down, and surely no club would be crass enough to make them public. But for Bolton it does represent a chunk of time lost when they desperately wanted the majority of their first team squad out in Portugal getting acquainted with the latest evolution of the manager’s tactical plan.

Equally, there is something to be applauded about being careful spenders. This mini transfer saga came exactly 15 years after Wanderers paid out a club record £8.2million to Toulouse for Johan Elmander – a deal actually worth around £10m when you factor there was a makeweight, Daniel Braaten.

Plenty has been discussed down the years on the Sweden international’s Bolton career, his struggles under Gary Megson, rebirth under Owen Coyle, the goal at Wolves, the midfield cameo in the FA Cup semi-final, but ultimately him walking out of the door for free represented some stunningly irresponsible business at the time.

Of course, we are not talking about the same sums here, in fact even the lower valuation of Elmander’s fee back then could comfortably fund the entire first team squad’s wages for a year these days. But it is all relative, and Wanderers are unwilling to jump into any transaction where they are uncomfortable with any factor, be it an unsatisfactory medical, a future contract clause, the fees being requested by an agent, or last-minute discussions with a rival bidder.

In the case of Wilson and Baccus, Bolton were unlucky, too. Both deals hit the headlines very early on in the piece and were played out in great detail in the press, locally and internationally. Their decision to put on the brakes was magnified because of that attention, and, yes, I appreciate I played my part in that. It comes with the job description, unfortunately.

The truth is any transfer which involves a fee tends to get scrutinised more closely by the press and the supporters than a player who arrives on a free. Often the money involved over the course of the contract – wages, bonuses etc – can make them work out similar in value. Perhaps we should forget about the price tag, as someone once sang.

New rules involving international transfers have also opened up a completely different – and unexpected – avenue for Wanderers.

League One clubs are now able to bring in two foreign players who would have otherwise failed the traditional work permit application. Put simply, whereas Evatt was once shopping at the Londis on the corner, he can now access Amazon.

The new regulations have been approved by the Football Association, via the Home Office, and were rather hoisted on clubs this summer. We should not, perhaps, expect a wave of foreign superstars just yet but the opportunity to investigate markets that were hitherto impossible to tap must be an intriguing prospect for Evatt and Markham, particularly with the data-driven model they use to recruit.

Wanderers are expanding their analysis department this summer in an effort to get the “one per cent gains” that Evatt seeks on his promotion rivals, and those unsung heroes are likely to have a big say on the future direction the club takes in the transfer market too.

No transfer is without risk. Think Robbie Elliott, Sean Davis, even Fabrice Muamba, and fate can intervene at any point. I think it is safe to assume on the evidence of this summer so far, though, that Bolton are being responsible with their boosted transfer kitty. And long may that continue.

if nothing else I think we can safely assume Wilson and Baccus were our primary targets and we havent persued anyone else in those positions before them

[Johnnyrotten]

10 minutes ago, Wanderlust said:

Always liked Luca, was pissed off when Celtic nicked him but he's one of the few kids from that era that have done really well. Now he's physically developed he's turned into an excellent L1, possibly Championship player at a push.

Yes we could do with a player like him to compete in midfield and make the killer passes but I think he's reached his level and if we're going to push on up the leagues we should be looking for players with more potential/quality.

And when you consider the names we've been linked to, it seems that Evatt is thinking that way too.

I'd be surprised if Cogley and Dan turn fit into that bracket.  Luca a nailed on top half L1 starter, Dan will hopefully improve but not yet at that level.  If/when Barnsley sell Connell I'd expect him to go up a division (Swansea?).

[Cheese]

Just now, Zico said:

if nothing else I think we can safely assume Wilson and Baccus were our primary targets and we havent persued anyone else in those positions before them

That's a bit of a leap. What makes you think we haven't persued anyone else?

[Zico]

Just now, Cheese said:

That's a bit of a leap. What makes you think we haven't persued anyone else?

"Having gone way down the line in his attempts to sign Kane Wilson from Bristol City and Keanu Baccus"

when we're still in June, because:

"for Bolton it does represent a chunk of time lost when they desperately wanted the majority of their first team squad out in Portugal"

they might have been second choice after we got nowhere with our first choice midfielders but there's nothing to suggest that's the case

[Cheese]

6 minutes ago, Zico said:

"Having gone way down the line in his attempts to sign Kane Wilson from Bristol City and Keanu Baccus"

when we're still in June, because:

"for Bolton it does represent a chunk of time lost when they desperately wanted the majority of their first team squad out in Portugal"

they might have been second choice after we got nowhere with our first choice midfielders but there's nothing to suggest that's the case

There's nothing to suggest we don't have other irons in the fire either.

[Zico]

1 hour ago, Cheese said:

There's nothing to suggest we don't have other irons in the fire either.

no, but they would still be second choices

I've no issue with that

but when it's been suggested we've missed out on primary targets the suggestion in reply to that was they might not be primary

I think it's clear they are and seen nothing to suggest otherwise

and given the effort we know IE and CM put into indenitfying targets, I can't help but be disspoainted when we get so close to signing them, then it doesn't happen, as preusambly they would make us better in line with our ambition to get promoted

I hope second choices are just as capable, or even better

[RUREADY2ROLL]

30 minutes ago, gonzo said:

Lets get Zach Clough back

And Nicky Hunt; he can play up front

[gonzo]

38 minutes ago, Cheese said:

There's nothing to suggest we don't have other irons in the fire either.

Theres not you're correct. 

But its clear these lads were our first targets and spent a lot of time and energy trying to them.

Them both falling at the last hurdle is pretty shit and must at least annoy the fuck out Evatt and Markham.

[frank_spencer]

2 minutes ago, gonzo said:

Theres not you're correct. 

But its clear these lads were our first targets and spent a lot of time and energy trying to them.

Them both falling at the last hurdle is pretty shit and must at least annoy the fuck out Evatt and Markham.

There's still 2 months to get deals done, there is the possibility that any transfer not happening now could still happen with tweaks of the financial side (if thats what stalled the deal) in the future.

Our biggest issue last season was scoring goals, the fact we seem to be running with the same strike force (minus Kachunga) is more of a worry to me than missing out on a right back and a midfielder.

[woolli]

7 minutes ago, frank_spencer said:

There's still 2 months to get deals done, there is the possibility that any transfer not happening now could still happen with tweaks of the financial side (if thats what stalled the deal) in the future.

Our biggest issue last season was scoring goals, the fact we seem to be running with the same strike force (minus Kachunga) is more of a worry to me than missing out on a right back and a midfielder.

Strike force and Kachunga dont belong in the same sentence!

[Wanderlust]

1 hour ago, frank_spencer said:

There's still 2 months to get deals done, there is the possibility that any transfer not happening now could still happen with tweaks of the financial side (if thats what stalled the deal) in the future.

Our biggest issue last season was scoring goals, the fact we seem to be running with the same strike force (minus Kachunga) is more of a worry to me than missing out on a right back and a midfielder.

Agree but...better midfield = less tracking back for forwards who can then take up scoring positions to receive the killer passes that a better midfield would supply - and not be too knackered to finish them. Just saying I'd like to see Dion and JDB putting their efforts into finding space in the box rather than working on the halfway line.

[Arrested development]

3 hours ago, Johnnyrotten said:

I'd be surprised if Cogley and Dan turn fit into that bracket.  Luca a nailed on top half L1 starter, Dan will hopefully improve but not yet at that level.  If/when Barnsley sell Connell I'd expect him to go up a division (Swansea?).

People are way overplaying Luca Connell. He's ok in a hoofball team. Couldn't even get a look in at Celtic. No way he's good enough to play champ. 

[Whitesince63]

3 hours ago, Johnnyrotten said:

I'd be surprised if Cogley and Dan turn fit into that bracket.  Luca a nailed on top half L1 starter, Dan will hopefully improve but not yet at that level.  If/when Barnsley sell Connell I'd expect him to go up a division (Swansea?).

Yes JR, I can see Luca going to Swansea with Duff or perhaps another Championship club. He reminds me of a young Barry Bannon and if he turns out half as good he’ll play higher up the leagues no question.

[Arrested development]

Just now, Whitesince63 said:

Yes JR, I can see Luca going to Swansea with Duff or perhaps another Championship club. He reminds me of a young Barry Bannon and if he turns out half as good he’ll play higher up the leagues no question.

Barry bannan lol. Because he's small ? He's nothing like bannan. When have you seen him do anything other than simple passes or cross it at every opportunity. He's bang average and definately not as good as Barry Bannan. 

[Tonge moor green jacket]

4 hours ago, Zico said:

if nothing else I think we can safely assume Wilson and Baccus were our primary targets and we havent persued anyone else in those positions before them

Quite.

Nothing wrong in that, we just move on.

[Whitesince63]

42 minutes ago, Arrested development said:

Barry bannan lol. Because he's small ? He's nothing like bannan. When have you seen him do anything other than simple passes or cross it at every opportunity. He's bang average and definately not as good as Barry Bannan. 

Read my post again, I didn’t say he was as good as Bannon, I said he reminds me of a young Bannon and even Bannon himself wasn’t as good at Lucas age as he is now. I can think of one pass though that certainly wasn’t simple and it cost us if you remember?

[Whitesince63]

Betting suspended at 6pm on Barnsley’s new manager and at 4pm Wilder was at evens? Now that really would be a coo for the Tykes.

[W.cramp]

1 minute ago, Whitesince63 said:

Betting suspended at 6pm on Barnsley’s new manager and at 4pm Wilder was at evens? Now that really would be a coo for the Tykes.

It will be some yank to go with that ridiculous team USA kit.

[Johnnyrotten]

3 hours ago, Arrested development said:

People are way overplaying Luca Connell. He's ok in a hoofball team. Couldn't even get a look in at Celtic. No way he's good enough to play champ. 

I'm not overplaying him, just saying he's a nailed on top half L1 starter, nothing amazing about that, but in comparison our 2 signings Dan and Cogley aren't yet at that level.  I'd say the same for Santos, Dempsey, JDB, Charles, Toal for eg - top half L1 players every day of the week, not impossible to see any of them in the championship but you may only get there with a bit of luck eg promotion or an ex manager rocks up there.  Not one player in our team would get a look in at Celtic, they're a very good team.