'I believe' - Claim made on permanent Bolton Wanderers move for Marcus Forss | OneFootball

FLW Fan Pundit Liam has heaped the praise on Bolton Wanderers loanee Marcus Forss after an excellent performance against Wigan Athletic.

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 have started the season quite well in League One, albeit their results haven’t quite reflected just how dominant their performances have been in the opening month and a half or so of the campaign.

The Trotters are unbeaten since an opening day loss at Edgeley Park against Stockport County in another game in which the Whites were the better side and certainly didn’t deserve to be on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline.

Since then, there have been some frustrations with their profligacy in attack, with many bemoaning the form of attacking midfielders Joel Randall and John McAtee, failing to adequately support Mason Burstow and Amario Cozier-Duberry in the final third.

However, a 4-1 demolition of local rivals Wigan Athletic saw new signing Marcus Forss score a brace in his first league start for the club, and there will now be hope that Forss could propel Bolton back to the Championship.

Bolton have struck gold with Marcus Forss

Having struggled for game time in the last couple of years at Middlesbrough, it was still seen as a coup for Bolton to sign Forss on a season-long loan deal in League One on the final day of the summer transfer window.

In his first start in the league start, he provided two neat finishes, one to round off an excellent move and the other highlighting individual poaching instincts to help rout Wigan.

He is a player that many fans are very excited about and FLW’s Wanderers Fan Pundit Liam O’Meara believes he is a very good signing for the Whites.

Liam says: “I think that it is a great signing for us.

“I like the fact the tactical flexibility that it gives us because, essentially, we can now switch between a 4-2-3-1 and also a 4-4-2.

“In essence, they are very similar formations and I think it deals with the problem area in our team, which was the ‘number ten’ as both Joel Randall and John McAtee had struggled for form.

“So, being able to have Forss, who is able to play that position but also really push on and try and score goals will make a big difference; particularly in those games where we have struggled to put chances away.

“We have had a high amount of chances that we haven’t converted in this league and I think, with a second person up there who is able to score goals, alongside (Mason) Burstow and even (Sam) Dalby when he starts getting into a rhythm will make a big, big difference for us.

“In terms of a permanent move, I believe his contract is up at the end of the season. Lets just take a view then as there is absolutely no rush.”

Marcus Forss raises the level for Steven Schumacher

The performance level of Randall and McAtee was quite frustrating, and that is perhaps the stories of their respective EFL careers throughout the last few years.

Steven Schumacher relying on them as the ‘number ten’ had a potentially high ceiling, but it was reliant on the pair of them finding their absolute best form on a consistent basis, which is not something either have ever done.

What the arrival of Forss does for Bolton is raise their floor, with an attacking midfielder or second striker that has previously played in the Premier League, been the subject of a £3 million move in the Championship and scored with regularity in League One.

His finishes against Wigan represented, simply, a higher level of quality than the players he is competing for a spot in the team with, and he could well be the solution to Bolton having previously underperformed their underlying numbers.