Bolton Wanderers urged to stall Kyle Dempsey decision - one condition made clear | OneFootball

FLW's Bolton Fan Pundit Liam believes that both parties should remain patient over the future of Bolton Wanderers midfielder Kyle Dempsey.

Bolton Wanderers find themselves in a position where they do not yet know what division they will be in next season as they chase automatic promotion to the Championship.

The Trotters find themselves six points back from second-place Lincoln City after a 1-1 draw with the Imps at Sincil Bank on Saturday, but they are ten points clear of seventh-placed Reading and tucked comfortably inside the top six and the play-off places.

After yet another busy transfer window in which Steven Schumacher was again able to reshape and re-design the construction of his squad with the arrivals of Jack Bonham, David Harrington, Lewis Temple, Ruben Rodrigues, Rob Apter, Corey Blackett-Taylor and Johnny Kenny, the Whites’ squad does make a bit more sense than it previously had done in terms of its hierarchy and for the preferred shape of a 4-2-3-1 or even a 4-4-2.

One surprising element is the importance within the squad that Kyle Dempsey now has, vying for a spot with Josh Sheehan as the more ball-playing central midfielder alongside one of the more defensive-minded midfielders, Ethan Erhahon or Xavier Simons.

Dempsey endured an injury-ridden 2024/25 campaign but eventually worked his way back into the eleven this season and now appears to be a key man once again.

Kyle Dempsey and Bolton should be patient on decisions over the future

Dempsey joined Bolton from then fellow League One outfit Gillingham in the 2022 January transfer window, and he has gone on to make 150 appearances for the club with that start against Lincoln the other day.

Out of contract this summer, FLW’s Bolton Fan Pundit Liam O’Meara believes that both he and Wanderers should remain patient on a decision over his future.

Liam says: “I think the main important thing isn’t what division we are in with Kyle Dempsey, it’s if he can stay fit.

“That has been a real problem for him over the last two or three seasons. He’s not maintained his fitness for long enough to really impact a season.

“I think the thing for him and Bolton is a consistent run of games. I don’t think that Bolton should be rushing to make any decision.

“I think that Kyle needs, for his own career really, needs to sustain a period in the first team because even if he was to leave Bolton at the end of the year, if he can maintain his fitness until the end of the year then he will probably find a club at the top end of League One, regardless of what Bolton do, what division Bolton are in and whether they decide to keep him.

“I think the main thing is just keeping a consistent run of games in because I think we’re starting to see the Kyle Dempsey of a couple of years ago and it’s really pleasing to see.”

Kyle Dempsey has fought well for Bolton

When he initially joined in 2022, Dempsey helped raise the level of a mid-table Bolton side and he has played a key part in Bolton being perennial promotion challengers from League One.

Some supporters may also argue that, despite his tenacity, there are some limitations to his game that can help Bolton become a promotion challenger but a lack of quality to ever really get over the line – and it may therefore concern some that, four years on from his arrival and having seemingly previously already been surplus to requirements or at least down the pecking order at times, he is a key man once again.

Dempsey’s aggression and industry, though, does mark him out as a fav favourite, often making up for some moments of frustrating poor quality by showing more endeavour than most.

To go with that, Dempsey can lay claim to one of the best individual performances of any Bolton player perhaps ever, especially given the occasion and the venue, as he dominated in a 4-0 demolition of Plymouth Argyle in the final of the EFL Trophy at Wembley Stadium in April 2023.

Whether or not Dempsey stays on at the Toughsheet Community Stadium remains to be seen and whether or not Bolton do finally gain promotion back to the second-tier could be essential to that.