Fresh Bolton Wanderers transfer update emerges | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers' Sporting Director Fergal Harkin has discussed Bolton's transfer plans for this summer.

Bolton Wanderers are heading back to the Championship and The Trotters are expected to be very busy in this summer transfer window with a lot of work to be done on their squad.

Just a couple of days after Bolton defeated Stockport County by four goals to one in the League One play-off final at Wembley Stadium, The Whites announced several departures.

It was confirmed that George Johnston, Jordi Osei-Tutu, Kyle Dempsey and Carlos Mendes Gomes would leave the club at the end of their contracts, while loanees Rob Apter, Corey Blackett-Taylor, Mason Burstow, Ibrahim Cissoko, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Marcus Forss and Johnny Kenny would return to their parent clubs with no suggestion of talks being underway with regards to any returns – with Szabolcs Schon’s permanent departure to Gyori also announced.

The retained list in particular has given Bolton supporters a sense of optimism with regards to their ambition this summer because many may have felt that Johnston and Osei-Tutu in particular could have been of value, even if only as squad players, but their release would suggest higher profile targets may well be lined up.

Bolton’s business has continued at a fast pace with the announcement of the signing of David Watson from Kilmarnock, amid suggestions that they are closing in on the £700,000 signing of Liverpool youngster Luca Stephenson.

As the summer gets underway, the club’s Sporting Director, Fergal Harkin, who took on the role ahead of last summer, has spoken about what Bolton will do in this window.

A few players in for Bolton before pre-season

Steven Schumacher was given 14 new signings last summer as Bolton revamped their squad with Harkin now at the club as well as Head of Recruitment, Jimmy Dickinson.

Another busy summer may well be in store once again for Wanderers and Harkin, speaking to the club’s in-house media, has outlined what may be in store in the early part of this summer:

“We have been working on different scenarios since February, and now it’s about executing them. The challenge is that the transfer window is long – three months – and deals often happen later, especially in a World Cup year.

“Ideally, we’d like to bring in four or five players before pre-season, like last year. We already have a strong group, and some signings are lined up – it’s just a matter of timing. We’ll bring in the right players at the right time.”

At the start of last summer, Bolton brought in Xavier Simons, Charlie Warren, Sam Dalby, Richard Taylor and Teddy Sharman-Lowe in June, just before pre-season, with Thierry Gale and Amario Cozier-Duberry arriving in early-July.

Bolton’s pre-season will begin at the end of June with a trip to Slovakia to face DAC Dunajska Streda in mid-July fundamental to their pre-season preparation.

With regards to delving into the loan market again, given how successful Bolton were in that sense last season, Harkin suggested it would again be useful:

“There’s always a balance. The priority is quality – players and characters who can perform at Championship level. Ideally, we’d own all those players, but financially that’s not always possible.

“The loan market can be very useful if it adds real quality to your starting XI. Our loan players contributed massively last season, even though injuries affected a few. If we can replicate that level of quality, it will work for us again.”

A busy summer awaits for Bolton

Having brought in 14 new signings last summer and then a further seven in the January transfer window, it may not have appeared as though Bolton would have to be busy this summer – but they most certainly do.

As Harkin talks about, ‘quality’ is key and so, from the back of the side, things may have to be improved upon with Jack Bonham, who put in a couple of excellent performances with big saves in their play-off campaign, someone who supporters certainly have doubts about between the sticks.

Further forward, Max Conway is the only out and out left-back at the club, especially with Richard Taylor having majorly underwhelmed with the left-back/centre-back hybrid defender not a part of the squad since mid-January.

On the right side of the defence, Cyrus Christie provides versatility and experience but he was second-choice to Jordi Osei-Tutu at the back end of the season and so a replacement is required there.

Bolton were perhaps short in the centre of the defence even without the release of George Johnston and so two new centre-backs may also be required to assist Chris Forino and Eoin Toal, as well as young defender Lewis Temple.

If Schumacher was to stick with his 4-2-3-1 system then six midfielders would likely be required and it could well be that that area of the pitch is already on the verge of being solved with the arrival of Watson and the potential signing of Stephenson to assist Ethan Erhahon, Xavier Simons, Josh Sheehan and Ruben Rodrigues.

The attack is perhaps the area of the pitch that needs most attention with now just two first-team players for out-wide and up-front, with winger Thierry Gale and striker Sam Dalby after the departures of their loan contingent.

A minimum of three, but probably four, wingers are required, again if Schumacher was to stick with the system, with two strikers also needed to compete alongside Dalby.

All in all, after 21 new signings across the 2025/26 campaign, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Bolton bring in 12 or 13 new faces this summer, too, with one of those already through the door in Watson. That would be if outgoings were to occur with John McAtee, linked with a move to Barnsley last summer, the likeliest to be let go alongside the likes of Taylor and the returning Joel Randall, who spent the second-half of last season on loan at Blackpool.

Harkin wants ‘four or five’ in by pre-season, which essentially means this month, and so that would suggest a very busy July and August for The Trotters as they aim to be competitive in the second-tier once again.