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Neil Lennon wants to speak with Alex Baptiste about a future at Wanderers.
The exiled defender, who has been on loan at Blackburn Rovers all season, has one year remaining on his contract at the Macron Stadium.
Many predicted he would be sold on in the summer but with Rovers falling under a transfer embargo, the chances of a return to Ewood Park look slim.
Lennon has kept a close eye on Baptiste’s form at Blackburn, however, and plans to talk with him about a possible reconciliation.
“I haven’t worked with him before,” Lennon told The Bolton News. “But he’ll come back in and we’ll sit down.
“We’ll have to assess his situation and whether there’s a chance he can come in and play for me because he’s under contract with the club.
“I haven’t really had a chance to look at it, and whether he wants to play here having been away for a year, I don’t know. But that’s something we’ll sit down and talk about with Alex and his representatives.”
Baptiste left under somewhat of a cloud during Dougie Freedman’s time at Wanderers, having lost his form at the end of the 2013-14 campaign.
But his displays for Rovers this season have been encouraging and the 29-year-old recently credited Gary Bowyer’s side for helping him “fall back in love with football.”
The former Blackpool man has made 32 appearances for Rovers and would offer some versatility and experience in the back four, which Lennon feels has been missing since he came to the club in October.
It looks increasingly like being a summer of change for Wanderers and Lennon is relishing the chance to get his teeth into the transfer market.
“There are a lot of strands to pull together but that’s management,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it. I want to make sure we’ve consolidated in this division and then it gives me a chance to put my own stamp on things, which I don’t think I’ve been able to do so far.
“We’d like to get contracts sorted sooner rather than later and then we’ve got eight or nine on loan going back to their respective clubs.
“When that’s done we’ll assess whether we want to look at those players again, buy them, or go in a different direction.” ?
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The exiled defender, who has been on loan at Blackburn Rovers all season, has one year remaining on his contract at the Macron Stadium.
Many predicted he would be sold on in the summer but with Rovers falling under a transfer embargo, the chances of a return to Ewood Park look slim.
Lennon has kept a close eye on Baptiste’s form at Blackburn, however, and plans to talk with him about a possible reconciliation.
“I haven’t worked with him before,” Lennon told The Bolton News. “But he’ll come back in and we’ll sit down.
“We’ll have to assess his situation and whether there’s a chance he can come in and play for me because he’s under contract with the club.
“I haven’t really had a chance to look at it, and whether he wants to play here having been away for a year, I don’t know. But that’s something we’ll sit down and talk about with Alex and his representatives.”
Baptiste left under somewhat of a cloud during Dougie Freedman’s time at Wanderers, having lost his form at the end of the 2013-14 campaign.
But his displays for Rovers this season have been encouraging and the 29-year-old recently credited Gary Bowyer’s side for helping him “fall back in love with football.”
The former Blackpool man has made 32 appearances for Rovers and would offer some versatility and experience in the back four, which Lennon feels has been missing since he came to the club in October.
It looks increasingly like being a summer of change for Wanderers and Lennon is relishing the chance to get his teeth into the transfer market.
“There are a lot of strands to pull together but that’s management,” he said. “I’m looking forward to it. I want to make sure we’ve consolidated in this division and then it gives me a chance to put my own stamp on things, which I don’t think I’ve been able to do so far.
“We’d like to get contracts sorted sooner rather than later and then we’ve got eight or nine on loan going back to their respective clubs.
“When that’s done we’ll assess whether we want to look at those players again, buy them, or go in a different direction.” ?
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