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George Johnston is in exactly the right place to progress his career as a centre half.
That’s the verdict from Ian Evatt, who has been happy with the way the former Liverpool and Feyenoord defender has settled since he signed for Wanderers this summer.
Johnston has performed well in the opening two games of the season – and more so when you consider he is on the comeback from a bout of Covid which laid him low for a fortnight in pre-season.
Evatt believes the youngster is still settling into some of the team’s patterns of play but has been hugely impressed with what he has offered defensively.
“George has been excellent,” he said. “He is getting used to us, he is getting used to what we do. We still need to work with him on where he is receiving the ball positionally.
"I still think sometimes he is still a bit deep and too wide and he is kind of pigeonholing himself into one certain pass. We need to be able to pass it both directions in and out of the pitch, but defensively he has been brilliant.”
The exciting thing for Wanderers is that Johnston is only just into his twenties, and already supporters are discussing the merits of a long-term defensive partnership with Ricardo Santos.
This weekend at AFC Wimbledon Evatt will have to decide whether to bring in the more experienced Alex Baptiste or stick with the duo which kept Barnsley at bay in the Carabao Cup.
Evatt – himself a former Premier League centre-back – and his coaching staff Peter Atherton and Sam Hird, believe Johnston has a bright future.
“He’s 22, and he is learning all the time,” said Evatt. He is not a physically dominant centre back like Rico is, so he needs to be clever and cuter and smarter with his body, but we have got Peter and Sam who are both excellent centre halves and weren’t the biggest, so it’s about being smart with your body and using it.”
Evatt is confident that he can continue to mix and match his side like he did in midweek and not lose momentum, as may have been the case in the past.
Wanderers head to Plough Lane on Saturday but then face a quick turnaround against Lincoln City at Sincil Bank the following Tuesday night.
Defensively, the Bolton boss is happy with his options – but across the squad he insists there will be opportunities for all.
“We have three excellent centre backs and Will Aimson who is unfortunately injured at the moment, so that’s a fourth,” he said. “We have good options all over the pitch. We are going to pick up injuries at times and it’s important when we do make changes that the players step in and we don’t lose any quality.
“That is the value of a strong squad. I was able to give some rest to Baka (Amadou Bakayoko) and Josh Sheehan and Alex (Baptiste) and Dapo (Afolayan), who are all big players for us, and still not really weaken the team against Barnsley.
“We are competitive now that we can mix it up and give people rest and look at different options, horses for courses, so to speak. I am very lucky to have such a talented squad.”
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