Bolton Wanderers told they were "lucky" with summer transfer - "I don't take any pleasure" in what's happening though | OneFootball

Aaron Collins has endured a frustrating start to life in Buckinghamshire

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Bolton Wanderers' current squad has been transformed under Steven Schumacher in such a short period of time, with the Whites looking to eventually end a lengthy exile away from the Championship.

After replacing former long-serving manager and current Blackpool boss, Ian Evatt, in late January, Schumacher's first real opportunity to shake up the squad at his disposal came throughout his maiden pre-season at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, which followed a dismal end to the 2024/25 campaign.

Following two seasons in the play-offs under Evatt, during which the Lancashire outfit fell short at the semi-final and final stage to Barnsley and Oxford United, Wanderers succumbed to an eighth-place finish last term, finishing the campaign some 10 points behind sixth-place Leyton Orient, who were also defeated at Wembley by promotion-winning Charlton Athletic.

Due to being one of a handful of sides to boast previous Premier League pedigree and having some of the greater all-round resources on offer in comparison to several League One rivals, there is always a great expectation placed on Bolton at the beginning of the season, with Schumacher believing a major reshuffle was needed to eventually gain promotion.

This saw the likes of Nathan Baxter, Gethin Jones, Ricardo Santos, George Thomason and Aaron Collins all become standout departures, with the latter's exit, in particular, gaining plenty of attention as the striker dropped into League Two to join promotion favourites and big-spending MK Dons.

However, the Welsh striker's start to life at Stadium:MK hasn't gone to plan for a variety of reasons, with Football League World's Bolton Wanderers fan pundit, Liam O'Meara, believing his club may have got slightly fortunate with the £800k figure the Dons parted with to secure his services.

Bolton Wanderers stance offered as Aaron Collins suffers early MK Dons misfortune

Collins spent a season-and-a-half in the North West under Evatt and Schumacher after becoming an extremely potent finisher with Bristol Rovers beforehand.

The Newport-born man scored eight times in his first 19 league games for the Whites as they narrowly missed out on automatic promotion in May 2024 before suffering play-off heartbreak, albeit Collins would find the net in the frantic semi-final second-leg against Barnsley.

After scoring 19 times in 55 appearances last term, Collins was Bolton's top scorer in League One (12 goals) and across all competitions.

Yet, despite such feats, he was sold to Paul Warne's new-look side for a reported £800,000 - a record fee for the League Two outfit, and one which saw Wanderers recoup the money parted with in January 2024 to prize him away from the Gas.

Despite MK currently residing in fourth place, Collins is yet to get going in Buckinghamshire at present, making just three appearances in all competitions thus far due to injury issues, whilst his former side look even more clinical thanks to the form of summer arrivals and loans such as Amario Cozier-Duberry, Mason Burstow, Marcus Forss and Sam Dalby.

However, O'Meara hasn't described the set of circumstances as Bolton hitting the 'transfer jackpot'.

"I don't take any pleasure in seeing Aaron Collins struggling for fitness at MK Dons," he told FLW. "I genuinely wish him well.

"I think he was one of Bolton's better players last season," O'Meara claimed. "He's not a player I would have in my team, in the sense that I think Bolton are lacking a focal point up front.

"But, I do think Aaron Collins' natural ability is very good. I think he will turn out to be a good signing for MK Dons when he's fit.

"In terms of Bolton 'hitting the jackpot', I think Bolton were lucky to recoup what we paid for him," our fan pundit believed.

"A transfer at that level, at that age, it's more that than his ability because, on his day, I do think Aaron Collins is a matchwinner."

Paul Warne will hope Aaron Collins can eventually aid MK Dons promotion bid

As our fan pundit alluded to, Collins' ability at League One and League Two level can't be disputed, it is just an extreme case of misfortune at present for the 28-year-old.

It was reported that the Dons' 2-1 defeat at Bromley on Saturday was a step too far in terms of potential involvement for Collins, albeit there is hope he can return to action as soon as possible.

Warne has plenty of experience to call upon amongst his ranks after a raft of high-profile incomings. However, it's fair to say that his side's 27 goals - the joint-best tally in League Two - have been shared around, with Alex Gilbey's tally of six so far, the best in terms of individual numbers.

Therefore, when Collins is back available for selection, expectation levels surrounding MK will only increase, and the striker will hope to showcase exactly why the significant six-figure fee was parted with back in June.