Steven Schumacher urged to sort Bolton Wanderers problem before signing Stoke City struggler | OneFootball

FLW's Trotters Fan Pundit urges Steven Schumacher to offload some of his current squad before pursuing Jamie Donley

Bolton Wanderers are said to be lining up for a loan move for Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder Jamie Donley, with his temporary spell at Stoke City expected to be ending imminently.

That’s according to journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon, who notes that the Trotters "admire" Donley due to his impressive League One campaign with Leyton Orient last season.

The 20-year-old Northern Ireland international registered 18 goal contributions in the third-tier with the O's in 24/25, and now his possible availability could pave the way for Steven Schumacher's side to revisit their long-standing ‘number 10’ issue, which has been labelled a 'real problem'.

The "real problem" at Bolton Wanderers that Jamie Donley could fix

The position that Donley plays in - number 10/attacking midfield - has long represented a "real problem" for Wanderers under Schumacher. FLW’s Bolton Fan Pundit, Liam O’Meara, spoke about the aforementioned Nixon report and how Donley could finally be the right fit.

"The number ten position has been a real problem for Bolton," O'Meara explained.

"We’ve tried a number of players there. Whilst there have been some glimpses of good performances, no one's been able to nail that down, to the point where, at times, Schumacher’s even tried sort of a false nine type forward - like Forss or Burstow playing in that role."

At Stoke so far this season, Donley has barely featured in the Championship for Mark Robins' side, making just four league appearances and starting none - with his last second-tier appearance being a 28-minute cameo against Millwall in October.

Donley's Orient loan told an entirely different story though, with his 10 assists for Orient representing the best in the division. Josh Dacres-Cogley had Bolton’s best assist return in 2024/25 with seven from the right wing-back position, with Brighton loanee Amario Cozier-Duberry being their main creative threat so far in the current campaign.

O'Meara then reeled off those who have auditioned for the attacking midfield spot in Greater Manchester, telling FLW, "just list some of the players that have not been able to cement that [position], you’ve got John McAtee, Joe Randall, arguably you could say Kyle Dempsey - even though he’s still trying to return to fitness, he’s not been able to nail it down either. "

However, there are apparently other areas that are of more pressing concern from a fan perspective than where Donley plays.

Bolton Wanderers urged to "ship players out" before trying to sign Jamie Donley from Spurs

Whilst O'Meara backs the Trotters to go in for Donley's signature if he gets recalled from his loan at Stoke, the Fan Pundit believes Schumacher needs to get rid of some players first.

"I can understand why that would be a part of the pitch that Bolton are looking to improve on, I just think you’re going to struggle unless you can ship players out," O'Meara told FLW.

"I think getting players out should be the priority before you look to bring people in."

Although the Bolton fan doesn’t specify what players exactly need to be sold, he then goes back to Donley’s “encouraging numbers” from Donley’s loan which were mentioned earlier.

O'Meara said, "But, let's say in an ideal world that does happen, and we do bring in Jamie Donley, the numbers from his loan last year in a very good Leyton Orient side would be very encouraging.

"There are other areas of the pitch I'd be looking to address before that though."

On paper, there’s no doubt that Donley possesses precisely the profile that Bolton need in attacking midfield. Randall started there in the 1-0 home defeat to Mansfield Town on Monday and failed to create a single chance or attempt a shot on goal.

Yes, he's not set the Championship alight like many would've predicted after last season, but Schumacher can definitely be the man to bring Donley's creative spark back - the Wanderers head coach may just need to get rid of a few unwanted players first, as O'Meara suggests.