2 Bolton Wanderers players fighting for their future at the club | OneFootball

Defensive duo George Johnston and Josh Dacres-Cogley are facing a fight to stay at Bolton Wanderers.

It has been a summer of change and upheaval for Bolton Wanderers, and that will alert those still at the club to what could be coming their way should individual and team performance not consistently improve – with both George Johnston and Josh Dacres-Cogley likeliest to be the most concerned.

Over the summer, in what was Steven Schumacher’s first summer transfer window as Bolton manager, the Trotters brought in 14 new signings and also said goodbye to plenty of key first-teamers.

At the start of the summer, many experienced players such as Nathan Baxter, Ricardo Santos and Gethin Jones were allowed to leave at the end of their contracts. Through the window, other first-teamers like George Thomason, Klaidi Lolos and Aaron Collins all had their sales sanctioned.

Even at the end of the window, players such as Carlos Mendes Gomes and Szabolcs Schon were allowed to depart on loan deals, with Schumacher shaking things up and putting his marker down on his squad at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

Schumacher had said he wanted to change the shape of the eleven and he has been allowed to do just that, and that should act as a warning for the likes of Johnston and Dacres-Cogley.

George Johnston needs to rediscover his early Bolton form

Having joined on a free transfer from Feyenoord in the summer of 2022, following a loan spell at Bolton’s local rivals Wigan Athletic, George Johnston immediately became a key starting centre-back for Ian Evatt.

Initially in a back four, Johnston became a fundamental part of the team as a left-sided centre-back who could push on, and he has gone on to make almost 150 appearances for the club.

He formed a key part of the defence in the 2022/23 season that conceded the second fewest goals in League One, only one more than an Ipswich Town that achieved promotion to the Premier League a year later.

Alongside the likes of Santos as well as Conor Bradley and James Trafford, Johnston had become sought-after, but then an ACL injury in the summer of 2023 saw him miss the entirety of the following campaign, returning to below his previous level last season.

This season has been a tale of inconsistency for Johnston, with the 27-year-old having shown signs of adapting his game to accommodate his knee issue, but also still making similar mistakes and errors of judgement.

There was reported interest in Johnston this summer, but he remained at the club to fight for a starting berth alongside captain Eoin Toal, former Wycombe Wanderers man Chris Forino and Stockport County-linked Will Forrester.

Both Forino and Forrester have played in the left centre-back role for Schumacher, despite being right-footed, but no one has really yet to nail down either spot at the heart of the Bolton defence.

New signing Richard Taylor can play there, albeit predominantly is a left-back, whilst up and coming Northern Ireland youth international Sam Inwood is a left-footed centre-back that is well liked by Schumacher.

Johnston has a lot of competition and despite being rated highly for his leadership skills, there simply must be an improvement in the coming months to ensure he remains at the club next summer, or even beyond January if an offer was to arrive.

Josh Dacres-Cogley has been harshly treated but must improve at Bolton

Replacing Liverpool loanee Conor Bradley was always going to be tough for Josh Dacres-Cogley when he joined on a free transfer from Tranmere Rovers in 2023.

Being deployed as a right wing-back in an Ian Evatt team means that you are tasked with being, arguably, the most important attacker on the pitch – and that is obviously not Dacres-Cogley’s skillset.

As a result, many Bolton supporters have been very harsh of the former Birmingham City defender, albeit there is an acceptance and an understanding he is far better and more effective as an out and out full-back.

That is where he has played throughout Schumacher’s time in charge and the criticism has softened, but there remains question marks over his ceiling as a player.

It is very rare that Dacres-Cogley can put in a nightmare of a performance, but he can often lack quality and be ineffective in the final third, and that remains an issue even despite the switch in the system and his role.

Cyrus Christie has been brought in and the Ireland international has a lot more pedigree as a simply defensive full-back, whilst Jordi Osei-Tutu, whilst lacking output and questionable defensively, is clearly the better right-back going forward.

Dacres-Cogley does remain dependable and will be given a lot of chances to earn a new deal but Schumacher has not been afraid to send previously key first-teamers packing – and both he and Johnston require a higher level of consistency to avoid that fate.