Steven Schumacher can't let Bolton Wanderers make brainless transfer decision ahead of February 2nd | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers and Steven Schumacher should not allow the sale of Josh Sheehan to be sanctioned this month.

Bolton Wanderers have put themselves in a position whereby a push for the top two and the automatic promotion spots in League One is now the bare minimum in the second-half of this season.

It has been a genuinely poor couple of months for the Whites, but they are stumbling their way through. It has been reported, though, that Josh Sheehan is the subject of interest from League One clubs and the sanctioning of any deal like that would be utterly foolish, given the position that they have somehow managed to get into.

After an extremely busy summer transfer window in which Wanderers brought in 14 new first-team players as well as allowing plenty of first-teamers to depart, Bolton began reasonably well in League One before a mid-season blip over the last month and a half or so.

They have now managed to steady the ship again, albeit with unconvincing performances, despite yet more activity in the transfer window.

Two of those 14 new additions, goalkeeping duo Teddy Sharman-Lowe and Tyler Miller, have left the club alongside centre-back Will Forrester, right-back Josh Dacres-Cogley, midfielder Joel Randall and striker Victor Adeboyejo.

In terms of incomings, Bolton have only brought in goalkeepers Jack Bonham and David Harrington and there is an expectation that Wanderers will make moves in attack before the close of the window.

In terms of outgoings, there could well be further movement with Oxford United now wanting Aaron Morley, while John McAtee was a target for Barnsley back in the summer.

The sale of Sheehan is not one that should be countenanced by Bolton, and it would be a very silly decision to allow the Wales international to join a fellow League One club, too.

Josh Sheehan is back to finding his best form at Bolton

After joining on a free transfer in the summer of 2021, Josh Sheehan spent a couple of seasons being frustrated by injury at Bolton and working his way back into an impressive rhythm that he had showed in his first couple of months at the club.

In the 2023/24 season, as Bolton narrowly missed out on automatic promotion on the final day of the campaign before a 2-0 loss to Oxford United in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium, Sheehan was immense, winning the Player of the Year award.

Like most players at the club, Sheehan struggled for consistency for much of last year and even looked as though he would begin this season down the pecking order, perhaps lacking the physical attributes desired by Steven Schumacher, amid the signings of more robust players like Xavier Simons and Ethan Erhahon.

However, even in the rough and tumble of League One and not the Championship, where his technical attributes may actually be more suited, Sheehan has again begun to become a key man for the Whites.

Schumacher said he wanted Sheehan to add more goals to his game and, since that comment, he has scored a match-winning brace against Rotherham United as well as a late stunner to win the derby against Wigan Athletic.

This wouldn’t be the sale of Sheehan last season, whereby he was in and out of the side lacking consistency and perhaps seeming past his best, this would be the sale of the heart of Bolton’s side, once again.

Wanderers have entered January transfer windows in 2023 and 2025 when in an excellent position but left them weaker and thus failed in their end of season goals. The sale of Sheehan could again prompt failure this season.

Allowing Josh Sheehan to move elsewhere in League One would be brainless

Even if Schumacher was to disagree with the assessment that Sheehan is now the heartbeat of the Bolton side once again, it would still make very little sense to allow him to leave.

Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where Sheehan will hope to be representing Wales under Craig Bellamy, Sheehan is likely going to be playing out of his skin.

It would therefore be extremely strange for Bolton to allow the 30-year-old, who is under contract until the summer of 2027, to go and finish the season playing for another team in League One, benefitting their own promotion hopes.

Bolton are, based on their recent performance level, fairly inexplicably third in the table. Rather than seeking to build on that fortune, the sale of Sheehan would almost be as if the club are choosing to shoot themselves in the foot.

There is also the concern about him being replaced. In that January 2023 window, Dapo Afolayan’s replacement as a creative attacker was Shola Shoretire – a loanee who was out of the squad by the end of the season. In that January 2025 window, Dion Charles’ replacement was Kion Etete – a loanee who was out of the squad by the end of the season.

There will need to be something done about the injury sustained by Amario Cozier-Duberry as well as a pre-existing need for attacking reinforcements, and perhaps even another centre-back after the departure of Forrester.

Taking that into consideration, as well as Morley’s future being up in the air, it would be a senseless decision for Bolton to sanction the departure of Sheehan this month – especially to a fellow League One club.