Bolton Wanderers could have made a mistake involving Victor Adeboyejo | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers have named their EFL squad list with Victor Adeboyejo in it, and they could have made an issue with that.

After a slow-ish start to the season, Bolton Wanderers will be looking to kick on now that the summer transfer window has shut, and the Trotters have named their EFL squad, but they may well have made a mistake.

Alongside Bradford City and Wigan Athletic, Bolton have named a full quota for their EFL squad, naming 22 first-teamers to the competition organiser, leaving no room for any more new signings, such as free agents, and requiring departures in the January transfer window to bring anyone in.

Within the squad list, Bolton have included former Burton Albion striker Victor Adeboyejo, who joined the club for a fee believed to be in the region of £500,000 in January 2022.

Adeboyejo has endured an injury-plagued career at Wanderers, and even when fully fit, many supporters would argue he has been some way away from justifying his transfer fee.

With a few other concerns about Bolton’s attacking depth now being raised, it could well be that Steven Schumacher has made a bit of a mistake by naming the striker in his squad.

Bolton have attacking concerns and could have replaced Victor Adeboyejo

Having suffered a serious knee injury in a 2-1 defeat of Leyton Orient back in mid-February, a few weeks after the appointment of Schumacher, Victor Adeboyejo required surgery.

The Nigerian striker, who helped Barnsley reach the 2020/21 Championship play-offs, is still rehabilitating from that surgery and a return date is unknown for the striker.

Even if he returns sooner than expected in the autumn, getting him up to match fitness will be a difficult process for Schumacher to do, and it could well be that we already hit the January transfer window by the time he returns.

In the meantime, Bolton are also sweating on the fitness of on-loan Mason Burstow, who has scored four goals in his first seven appearances, with him having limped off due to a hamstring injury against AFC Wimbledon.

Sam Dalby missed the vast majority of pre-season due to his own hamstring issue, and new signing Marcus Forss is going to have to be given time to settle into things at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, having joined on loan from Middlesbrough on the final day of the summer transfer window.

Steven Schumacher will already have concerns about Bolton’s attacking efficiency

The underlying data suggests Bolton have been extremely impressive this season, but they have significantly underperformed in terms of actually finishing chances.

So, a concern over the actual quality and efficiency of the attackers is already there, not helped by the availability issues and potential lack of depth that could continue to undermine their performance level.

It is therefore something of a surprise, and a bit of a risk, that Bolton have included the still injured and injury-prone Adeboyejo, when a solution outside of the transfer window could have been found.

For example, former Sunderland and Middlesbrough forward Duncan Watmore remains a free agent, and would surely be someone worth looking at for Bolton to fill out their squad.

An added reliability in terms of his availability, and simply a higher level of quality would provide Bolton, both club and supporters, with fewer headaches and worries.

The intention for Wanderers this season is to get promoted, and they are playing well, but the lack of efficiency and effectiveness in both boxes is a problem – and a problem that could have a solution with a squad space available.

That squad space is now no longer available, and it could well be that they have a mistake with that. Regardless of that, though, it is certainly a bit of a gamble that Steven Schumacher has taken on Adeboyejo between now and January's opportunity to re-list.