Steven Schumacher can strengthen Bolton Wanderers with Championship raid | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers should target a move for Oxford United left wing-back Greg Leigh in the January transfer window.

Bolton Wanderers are heading into the second-half of the season in an excellent position to launch a challenge for the top two spots, despite a woeful run of form throughout the middle part of the campaign.

That woeful run of form has brought about a change in shape from Steven Schumacher, with the Trotters now opting for a back three in their last couple of games, instead of a 4-2-3-1, and there is therefore a need to recruit for that shape – and Oxford United full-back Greg Leigh could be an ideal solution.

In the summer, following a collapse at the back end of last year, Schumacher wanted to recruit for a different shape, with Bolton having played the back three for much of the last half a decade under the management of Ian Evatt.

That saw 14 new first-team signings made as well as plenty of key and senior players departing the Toughsheet Community Stadium and things did appear to be going quite well as autumn began.

However, a very average run of form from late-November through to mid-January has seen Schumacher change to a system with wing-backs once again, but, after that major overhaul in the summer, the squad isn’t exactly well placed for that long-term.

As a result, Bolton are going to have to act quickly to fill some gaps in the squad and perhaps the most glaring hole comes in the left wing-back position, with Leigh an ideal fit.

Greg Leigh has moved to the periphery at Oxford United

31-year-old Jamaica international Greg Leigh has been an excellent servant to Oxford United and has enjoyed a good time of it at the Kassam Stadium.

After joining from Ipswich Town in the summer of 2023, Leigh made 37 appearances in the 2023/24 campaign for the U’s, including an appearance at Wembley Stadium in the League One play-off final as Oxford defeated Bolton by two goals to nil.

He again showed his worth and valuable experience and quality in the Championship last year, too, with a further 37 appearances as Gary Rowett’s Yellows managed to avoid the drop.

Leigh as drifted to the periphery of things this season in Oxfordshire, though, with just ten starts so far and having been an unused substitute in each of their last five matches, including both of the opening games of the Matt Bloomfield era.

Having tipped into his 30s and with FIFA World Cup Intercontinental Play-offs coming up in the March international break, Leigh will likely be keen to ensure his game time is enhanced in the second-half of the campaign.

According to Capology, the Manchester City academy graduate is out of contract this summer and so a move now could well be on the cards and a return to being closer to home for the Sale-born former Bury defender could be ideal – and it is something that Bolton should be very keen to pursue.

Bolton need someone like Greg Leigh in their squad

From an on the pitch perspective, the switch to wing-backs has immediately limited Bolton’s options with only Max Conway, who has been brilliant throughout the campaign, capable of playing that role.

Summer signing Richard Taylor has joined but even left-back appears to be out of position for the former Saint Mirren man and so pushing him even further forward would only surely leave him further exposed.

Therefore, a left wing-back is likely required if this system is to now be the go to for the rest of the campaign, and Schumacher did name an unchanged eleven for the goalless draw with Stevenage this week, a few days after initially implementing it in a 1-0 defeat of Wigan Athletic at the weekend.

From the more intangible perspective, Bolton also require a bit of nous and experience in the squad, which is perhaps something that Schumacher himself also believes with the signing of Cyrus Christie at the back end of the summer as well as Jack Bonham in this window.

The recruitment policy of recent seasons has often been to plump for players with an unknown floor but a potentially high ceiling and, while it has worked on occasion, it has often led to players becoming surplus to requirements when that unknown floor turns out to be quite low – as well as quite common, such as Carlos Mendes Gomes, Szabolcs Schon and Joel Randall; all players who were signed for reasonable fees and are now out on loan from Wanderers.

Leigh would represent something of a banker in terms of knowing what you’ll get, as well as providing promotion-winning experience to a team that often undermine consistently strong performances with frustratingly inconsistent and flimsy results.

Bolton have to act fast in the final week and a half or so of the January transfer window and one man that they should be targeting is Greg Leigh to bolster their squad.