Bolton confirm Brandon Comley excluded from submitted EFL squad list

Brandon Comley has been excluded from a squad list submitted by Wanderers to the EFL for the League One campaign.

The midfielder, who has not featured for Bolton since December 5, was the notable absentee in a 20-man roster which will be available for league games.

Ian Evatt has the option of adding up to three senior players to his squad, with EFL approval, over the coming months but Comley’s exclusion has added weight to the belief that he will be loaned out to the National League before the next transfer window.

Leyton Orient had been eyeing Comley in the days leading up to the summer deadline but a move never materialised and the 25-year-old played for the reserves in their Central League game against Accrington Stanley on Tuesday.

Last season, the former Colchester United ball-winner made 14 appearances in all competitions, the last of which came in a 6-3 home defeat to Port Vale.

Comley had initially been signed to anchor the Bolton midfield alongside Blackburn Rovers loanee Tom White and Andy Tutte in League Two but after starting five of the first seven games he dropped out of contention.

The arrival of MJ Williams in January, plus the rise to prominence of George Thomason and summer addition of Josh Sheehan left Comley well down the pecking order.

Although he is currently unable to play in league games, Comley can feature in the Papa John’s Trophy.

Included on the list, however, is defender Liam Edwards – who has not played a senior game for the club since January 28, 2020.

The Crewe-born centre-half fractured his kneecap in a training ground collision and after several setbacks is now making his way towards a full recovery.

EFL rules state that League One clubs can name 23 players who are aged over-21, excluding goalkeepers.

The Wanderers squad in full: Afolayan, Aimson, Bakayoko, Baptiste, Brockbank, Delfouneso, Doyle, Edwards, Gordon, Isgrove, John, Johnston, Jones, Kachunga, Lee, Santos, Sarcevic, Sheehan, Tutte, Williams.

Under-21 contracted players: Alexander, Amaechi, Colvin, Darcy, Fitzmartin, Hurford-Lockett, Hutchinson, Politic, Senior, Thomason.

Source

Inevitable. Perhaps now he is more likely to agree to terminate his contract in order to make him a free agent which will allow some other club to sign him and therefore get him game time?

Or will he just put his feet up and continue to take OUR money?

The club should offer to cancel his contract now but as Lusty says he may be content to get paid for not playing.

I'm sure he could get a club in league 2 if he's a free agent so best to let him go now.

Doesn't work like that.

He has to become a free agent BEFORE the transfer window shuts if he wants to play for another club before the next window.

If he becomes a free agent now, he can't play for another team until the January window opens.

I'm not sure if that apply's to playing non-league football though?

I think you're wrong on that one Sluffy, a free agent can sign for a team at any time but i'm sure you'll prove me wrong in a 13 paragraph answer 

Norpig wrote:I think you're wrong on that one Sluffy, a free agent can sign for a team at any time but i'm sure you'll prove me wrong in a 13 paragraph answer 

If a player is released from their club when the transfer window is closed, they cannot sign for another team until the window reopens. A notable case of this being Sol Campbell who in September 2009 was released from Notts County, just after a month from signing on a free transfer. He signed for his former club Arsenal in January 2010 during the winter transfer window, after spending a few months training with the team to maintain his fitness.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_agent#Association_football

Well done only 1 paragraph 

I think that in the EFL a free agent can sign from a week after the summer window closes until the 4th Thursday of November and there's a similar period after the January window but player registration has a few potential banana skins not least of which is that most clubs have already registered their quota of players. Different rules in the prem though.

wanderlust wrote:I think that in the EFL a free agent can sign from a week after the summer window closes until the 4th Thursday of November and there's a similar period after the January window but player registration has a few potential banana skins not least of which is that most clubs have already registered their quota of players. Different rules in the prem though.

Maybe a free agent can sign as you've described above, I've not bothered to check it out because we weren't talking about that.

What I stated was that a player has to become a free agent BEFORE the end of the transfer window if he wants to play for another team as a 'free agent' in the period before the next transfer window - otherwise he has to wait until that time in order to  be eligible to play for them.

This is from the EFL's website which confirms exactly what I've said -

Regulation 43.2.1: See also the guidance under the definition of Out of Registration Player. Unless otherwise agreed, Players registered at any level including on a Non-Contract registration are not deemed to have ‘out of registration player’ status if still registered during a Closed Period.

https://www.efl.com/-more/governance/efl-rules--regulations/section-6---players/

Which translated means that if a player is registered with a club when the transfer window closes, he is still registered with them until the next transfer window.

He can at any time thereafter agree with that club to be released and thus to become a free agent BUT he is not deemed to be out of registration for the 'closed' period he is already in - and therefore must wait until the transfer window is 'opened' again before his transfer to any other club can be registered with the EFL.

There is nothing stopping him SIGNING for another club but he cannot be registered to PLAY for them until the following transfer window - as per the example above in respect of Sol Campbell.