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Elias Kachunga’s contribution to Wanderers’ cause this season has gone far beyond goals, says Ian Evatt.
The former Huddersfield Town man grabbed his second of the season to help put Bolton into the last 16 of the Papa Johns Trophy – but has been castigated in some quarters for his poor scoring record.
In 62 appearances for the club - 35 starts – Kachunga has scored five times but Evatt maintains he has provided value in different areas which is equally important to getting results.
“Kacha is very much a team player and I think he sometimes does not get the recognition he deserves for that team play,” he said. “He’s great at receiving, really reliable, works hard out of possession, presses really intensely and intelligently and he probably would argue his goal record isn’t great, but there’s other things that he offers to the team that enables it to function.
“I’ve been really pleased with how he’s performed so far this season. The goals hopefully will come and we’ll start putting him into better areas, but sometimes he’s the sacrificial one that looks to build and is not the one in the box or running in behind. We need to cut him some slack on that, I think.”
Kachunga had started four of the last five games for Wanderers before last night’s cup tie, and started Saturday’s game at Fleetwood as a number 10.
Bolton have won eight of 13 games he has been in the starting line-up, and were victorious on both occasions he has been named alongside Afolayan.
The link-up proved a fruitful one after his introduction as a substitute against Barrow, and Evatt feels Kachunga’s experience helps Afolayan to prosper.
“He’s an intelligent player and especially when we play Dapo as a nine or 10, those two rotate quite fluidly so if Dapo is playing as a nine, he loves to come into the pocket to receive, Kacha recognises that and goes on the last line or vice versa,” he said.
“He offers so much more to the team than goals and I think we need to appreciate that.”
Kachunga’s career has rarely been prolific, with 13 goals for Huddersfield Town in their 2016/17 promotion season to the Premier League his best return since moving to England.
Evatt maintains, however, that his value to Wanderers cannot be evaluated solely on that basis.
“Centre forwards will always be judged on goals and people want to see centre forwards score goals if you’re labelled as that. But he offers so much more than just that.
“He’s flexible, fluid, intelligent, he understands the game and sometimes it’s him that is the sacrificial one to drag people out of spaces and come short and receive in pockets of space to help the build.”
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