Bolton Wanderers may lean on Ian Evatt advantage to get Luton Town deal done: View | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers can lean on Ian Evatt and Rob Edwards relationship to sign John McAtee from Luton Town.

Ian Evatt will hope most of Bolton Wanderers’ transfer business is wrapped up by the start of the new League One season.

The Trotters have been busy in the early weeks of the transfer window, as the club has seen players such as Luke Southwood, Chris Forino, Scott Arfield, and Klaidi Lolos all arrive.

There is no doubt that Evatt will want more bodies arriving as Bolton try to achieve promotion to the Championship.

There are just a few weeks left before the season kicks off, and it appears as though Wanderers are keen to add to their forward line as Luton Town’s John McAtee has emerged as a transfer target.

Bolton are lining up a move to sign the Luton striker.

That is according to The Bolton News, who state that the forward is on the club’s shortlist after impressing on loan with Barnsley last season.

The report also goes on to claim that, as well as McAtee being of interest, Bolton are also interested in signing Karamoko Dembele from French side Stade Brestois.

McAtee could well be a big arrival for Bolton, as the striker has impressed in League One before and will likely be hungry to impress having been given no guarantees of football in the Championship this season with the Hatters.

Wanderers will be looking to try and wrap up this deal as quickly as possible before other teams circle with interest. Therefore, Bolton should look to lean on Evatt’s relationship with Luton boss Rob Edwards to secure this transfer.

John McAtee's 2023/24 performance for Barnsley

McAtee has been with Luton Town since August 2022, when he joined the Hatters from Grimsby Town.

The forward was very impressive for the Mariners in the National League, but he has yet to showcase that ability for Luton and has not made a senior appearance for the club.

Last season was a big campaign for the 24-year-old, as he spent it on loan at Barnsley, where he started 31 of the 40 league games he played for the Tykes.

McAtee impressed for Barnsley and was a key member of their team. He scored 12 goals, which could have easily been more, as he averaged 2.3 shots per game and missed 15 big chances.

As well as scoring goals, McAtee was also a key contributor to creating chances, as he created seven big chances for his teammates, which helped him grab four assists, as per Sofascore.

If McAtee had been playing for Bolton last season, the forward would have been the Trotters’ second-highest goalscorer in the league, and he would have been second behind Aaron Collins for goals and assists combined.

It shows how good McAtee was last season for Barnsley, and therefore, it is understandable why Bolton are looking to sign the player, as he could easily come into this team and improve their attacking threat and possibly be the difference in getting them over the line to the Championship.

Ian Evatt and Rob Edwards relationship should help Bolton in the John McAtee race

Given how much McAtee impressed last season, Bolton will be lucky if they do not find themselves in competition with another team to sign the striker.

Therefore, before that happens, Bolton should lean on the fact that manager Ian Evatt and Luton boss Rob Edwards are said to have a good relationship on and off the pitch.

It was reported in The Bolton News that Evatt and Edwards are close friends, as the pair played together during their days at Blackpool.

Evatt was at Bloomfield Road the year before Edwards joined the club and after the latter had arrived, the pair helped Blackpool reach the Premier League by beating Cardiff City in the play-off final.

Edwards left the Tangerines in 2011, joining Barnsley on a free transfer, but Evatt continued at Blackpool until 2013 and even though they are both in the managerial game, it appears they still remain close friends.

It has been stated that the pair are often on the phone together, exchanging ideas, as they both look to climb the managerial ladder.

Therefore, this relationship that Evatt and Edwards have off the pitch could work in Bolton’s favour when it comes to signing McAtee.

If it were to be a loan deal, Edwards would likely send his player to someone he gets along well with and knows, therefore, that his striker is going to play, which is important in any loan deal.

Even if Bolton are looking into a permanent switch, it could give the Trotters an advantage over other teams were they to join the race, as Edwards is likely only going to say good things about Evatt and the League One side.

This gives Bolton a big advantage in their pursuit of bringing McAtee to the Toughsheet Community Stadium.