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Ian Evatt is confident new signing Elias Kachunga will supply goals for Wanderers in League One.
The German-born striker has made a positive start in a Bolton shirt, creating a goal against MK Dons on his debut and then netting a penalty in the shootout win against Barnsley in midweek.
Kachunga arrived having not scored a league goal in more than 12 months in English football, however, after a difficult spell with Sheffield Wednesday last season.
Evatt is confident his fortunes will change at the University of Bolton Stadium once he gets completely up to speed.
“We are very lucky to have signed him, I think he is going to be a great player for us,” he said. “You hear things about looking at his goalscoring record but you have to remember the type of teams he was playing in and the level of football they were playing at. It is a lot, lot different to League One and the way we play and create chances.
“We think we can get the best out of Kacha. He was in a great position on Saturday and that composure to find the cross for Alex Baptiste at that stage of the game shows you the class and the level he can get to.
“He hasn’t had a pre-season so we are going to have to be patient but he is fit enough to have an impact on games at the moment and we will try and get him up to speed as quickly as we can.”
Evatt and technical performance director Chris Markham had identified Kachunga as a potential addition towards the back end of last season, as it become clear he would be leaving Hillsborough.
Bolton had to wait in line, however, as the striker mulled over offers to return to German football.
“Similar to last year, we identified Kacha pretty early on as the type we’d like to sign because he has good versatility in the front areas of the pitch. He can play seven, nine, 11, and he has got great experience of playing in the Premier League, the Bundesliga, the Championship and hadn’t played any lower than that,” Evatt explained.
“He is still only 29 and his out of possession stuff is really good.
“Chris (Markham) knows his character from Huddersfield so we knew he just ticked a lot of boxes but whether it was achievable for us to bring him in was another matter.
“Early on it probably wasn’t going to happen. He was on a lot of money, had offers from Germany and decided to take his time and make a decision.
“The offers did not materialise in the end and he has got a girlfriend in the North West, which is where they want to stay, and so it came back around to us.”
Kachunga’s two appearances thus far for the Whites have been from the bench and Evatt is being careful not to push his new signing to start games too soon.
A lack of pre-season means the striker is going through his own fitness program with the medical staff.
“I wouldn’t think it will be too long, he is a fantastic professional,” he said. “What you find with some European players but especially those from Germany is that they are robust and also their professionalism is second to none.
“He is such a good professional and a great example to our younger players on how he looks after his body, day to day.”
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