Home
Jon Dadi Bodvarsson could be unleashed on Burton Albion tonight as Wanderers look to claw back more ground on the play-off places.
The former Reading and Wolves striker has been limited to sub appearances since signing from Millwall but Ian Evatt admits his glimpses of form thus far are making it tougher to keep his name off the team-sheet.
Bodvarsson had played more games for his country this season than he had in the Championship but agreed a move to the UniBol last month in an effort to reboot his career.
Dion Charles and Amadou Bakayoko led the line against Oxford United at the weekend but Evatt has hinted that he may change his attacking options depending on conditions at the Pirelli Stadium.
“What has enabled us to go slowly with Jon so far is that we have been winning games, and the fact other players are in form,” he told The Bolton News.
“Jon hasn’t had a lot of football all season, we’ve had to build him up, get him up to speed. But I feel he is right up to speed now and ready to go.
“When he has come off the bench, he has showed moments of real class and quality. We are looking forward to him starting games and I think he’s ready for that now.”
Bodvarsson, plus other new signings like Kieran Sadlier and Kyle Dempsey, have yet to be fully phased into the starting line-up but Evatt believes each player has enjoyed being part of a squad that has transformed its fortunes in the last few weeks.
“To get these types of players in we have had to give them certain promises, and one is that they will enjoy playing for this football club and what we give them,” he said. “They will enjoy the coaching, the philosophy, the way we play.
“I think if you ask Jon, he has thoroughly bought into all of that and we have again proved that what we say is what we do.
“He is really enjoying his football. He feels appreciated - he feels wanted by us, by the staff, by the players and fans. He is having a good time – he is ready to start games and I am sure we will see him starting in the not-too-distant future.”
Bakayoko’s scoring form has also pleased Evatt, who watched the former Coventry City man score his eighth of the season to sink Oxford on Saturday.
Though he has only once got into double figures for a season – at Walsall in 2016/17 – the 26-year-old looks on track to do so again in Bolton colours.
“You can look at his record but I think we should probably have learned lessons about making assumptions about players – you only have to look at James Trafford,” he said.
“You can’t judge a book by the cover and Baka hasn’t played in our team, in this system before, and the way we play he will get chances. He is showing he can take them once we create them.
“I thought there were other chances on Saturday where maybe the pass detail wasn’t there, especially in the first half. He is enjoying his football now, he’d been in and out with injury but now we have got him fit again and he adds a different dynamic to that centre-forward department, which now looks really strong.”
Evatt is also delighted to see Bakayoko and Co getting themselves into the right penalty box positions.
“Goals are predominantly scored in that zone between the posts – that isn’t anything new,” he said.
“We say to the players get yourself in there. Referring back to Manchester City, how many times do you see the ball slid in that corridor between the goalkeeper and defenders and there is someone there to put it in.
“That is exactly the type of cross we want. There is no point putting in deep, flighty crosses. We aren’t really built for them. We want to hit that corridor or cut-back for late midfield arrivals. It was great to see Saturday that Marlon executed one perfectly and Baka was in there, right place, right time.”
Source