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Wanderers will look to sign loanees Marcus Maddison and Dapo Afolayan permanently this summer – if they do enough to impress boss Ian Evatt.
Both players are out of contract with their parent clubs, Charlton Athletic and West Ham United, and are looking to settle in Bolton if the opportunity arises.
Evatt refuses to give up his hopes for a play-off place despite Bolton sitting 19th in the table as they head to Salford City with 21 games to go.
And after securing all four of his top targets on deadline day – Blackpool’s MJ Williams and Burnley’s Lukas Jensen also coming through the door – he has already got one eye on making their stay a longer one.
“Marcus is the one we knew would develop late in the window,” he said. “I was delighted to get him.
“Dapo is another one I’d had my eye on for a long time and he’s such a talented boy. But we’re not looking at them just for this season, it’s next season as well. I want them to do well here and be Bolton players in the future.
“They are both free agents in the summer and they can have a good look at us, and we can have a good look at them.”
Evatt upgraded his squad in the January window with seven new additions but the added competition comes with its own problems.
“I have got a headache already for Saturday,” he said. “It is even difficult picking training groups at the minute - there are unhappy people who have been left out to train with the academy this morning, just because we have that quality.
“It is challenging but it is competitive and it’s how it should be at Bolton Wanderers. We want this club to have an elite group where it is difficult to get into the 11, or the 18.
“You have to be constantly challenged. When we speak about recruitment it shouldn’t be the end of it, you have to educate players every day and make them understand what you need from them, individually and collectively.
“We are looking to get that structure in place so that players know when you come to Bolton what is expected of you, and that there are no excuses.”
Source
Both players are out of contract with their parent clubs, Charlton Athletic and West Ham United, and are looking to settle in Bolton if the opportunity arises.
Evatt refuses to give up his hopes for a play-off place despite Bolton sitting 19th in the table as they head to Salford City with 21 games to go.
And after securing all four of his top targets on deadline day – Blackpool’s MJ Williams and Burnley’s Lukas Jensen also coming through the door – he has already got one eye on making their stay a longer one.
“Marcus is the one we knew would develop late in the window,” he said. “I was delighted to get him.
“Dapo is another one I’d had my eye on for a long time and he’s such a talented boy. But we’re not looking at them just for this season, it’s next season as well. I want them to do well here and be Bolton players in the future.
“They are both free agents in the summer and they can have a good look at us, and we can have a good look at them.”
Evatt upgraded his squad in the January window with seven new additions but the added competition comes with its own problems.
“I have got a headache already for Saturday,” he said. “It is even difficult picking training groups at the minute - there are unhappy people who have been left out to train with the academy this morning, just because we have that quality.
“It is challenging but it is competitive and it’s how it should be at Bolton Wanderers. We want this club to have an elite group where it is difficult to get into the 11, or the 18.
“You have to be constantly challenged. When we speak about recruitment it shouldn’t be the end of it, you have to educate players every day and make them understand what you need from them, individually and collectively.
“We are looking to get that structure in place so that players know when you come to Bolton what is expected of you, and that there are no excuses.”
Source