John McAtee backed to leave Bolton Wanderers by February 2nd | OneFootball

FLW's Bolton Wanderers Fan Pundit has suggested that John McAtee should depart the club in the winter transfer window.

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 are experiencing a very busy January transfer window as, despite a major overhaul of his squad in the summer, Steven Schumacher once again seeks to shake things up after a woeful recent run of form.

The Trotters have already seen Victor Adeboyejo and Will Forrester depart for Mansfield Town and Leyton Orient, respectively, while Josh Dacres-Cogley is reportedly set to join Stockport County.

As well as that, there are suggestions that Chelsea are set to recall goalkeeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe, while fellow shot stopper Tyler Miller is due to quit the club to return to the United States.

Aside from Adeboyejo, and perhaps Forrester to an extent, the rest of this month’s early departures are more surprising than anything with a few likelier candidates, such as John McAtee, still at the club.

John McAtee could and should depart Bolton this month

Having been put on the fringes of the squad by Schumacher so far this season, it is fairly surprising that former Luton Town man John McAtee hasn’t yet pushed for a departure from the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

With more than a couple of weeks left of the window to go, though, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him depart and FLW’s Bolton Fan Pundit Liam O’Meara believes his potential departure would make the most sense in the squad.

Liam says: “I think the one standout player in terms of being loaned or sold is John McAtee.

“That’s a player with decent chance of value. A player who will be on higher wages in the Bolton squad and isn’t featuring.

“Regardless of your views on John McAtee and I would have liked to have seen him used more this season, we can’t have that value not playing or not featuring and he’s the one that I think would attract a level of interest.

“For me, the best option (to leave) is John McAtee and he needs to get playing. If he can get a loan then that would be ideal.”

A frustrating stint at Bolton for John McAtee

Born in Walkden, straddling the Bolton-Salford border, John McAtee signed to much fanfare in the summer of 2024, having been a thorn in Bolton’s side while on loan at Barnsley.

However, the uncertainty and chopping and changing with Wanderers eventually saw McAtee majorly underwhelm last season, unsure of where his best position was until he himself said he discovered it to be in the ‘number ten’ last season.

Given an hour from the start of the season in that role in a 2-0 defeat to Stockport County, McAtee has found himself back on the periphery of things at Bolton.

Again, Schumacher’s relentless inconsistency in terms of team selection has left some players appearing dazed on the pitch with where they stand, and perhaps understandably so.

It is believed that McAtee missed out on a return to Barnsley with a failed move late in the summer window and it wouldn’t be a shock to see the 26-year-old eventually get a move away.