Home
The success of James Trafford and Conor Bradley at Wanderers this season does not necessarily mean Ian Evatt will look to repeat the trick next season.
Bolton have boosted their reputation with Premier League clubs like Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United with their work in the loan market over the past couple of years.
Anfield prospect Bradley swept the board at the end-of-seasons awards and Trafford has broken into the England Under-21 set-up on the back of his excellent displays in League One.
While Evatt has been encouraged by the influx of young loanees this term and the relationships built with top flight teams, he is not guaranteed to return to the same well this summer.
“We have got a good reputation for not only coaching the players the correct way but also treating them the correct way,” he said. “It is different year-on-year with these clubs and where we perceive players to be in their development. But we have done ourselves no harm with bigger clubs like Liverpool or Manchester City, we have a good relationship with them all.”
Trafford is set to return to Manchester City as understudy to Ederson, with the club also open to loaning him to a top-flight team around Europe.
“He has done an unbelievable job – and we have done an unbelievable job for him too, it’s a two-way street,” Evatt told The Bolton News. “We kept our part of the bargain after he had a horrible time at Accrington, where he found himself leaving a season-long loan deal.
“It was a huge risk for him and a huge risk for us but thankfully it paid off and he has shown what a brilliant keeper he is.
“My pledge to everyone is that we want them to leave in a better position than they arrived in and we have done that for James and for Conor Bradley too.”
Bradley could return if Bolton are promoted – but only after Liverpool take a closer look at his progress and decide if he is ready for first team football at Premier League level.
Evatt says the youngster deserves credit for what he has done at the UniBol.
“It is a huge achievement because being a loan player isn’t always easy, you have to fill into a different culture and you know it isn’t permanent, as much as we would like it to be,” he said.
“He came and did exactly what I knew he would. It is well documented that we wanted to sign him instead of Marlon Fossey last January, we didn’t, and Marlon was fantastic. Everyone fell in love with him and was devastated when we lost him but I kind of knew what we were gaining.
“He is a fantastic young player but more important is his attitude, which is first class, he gives it his all every single day. And that comes from his family, who are brilliant people as well.
“He will keep pushing and regardless of where he is or what happens in the future, he will keep us in very high regard.”
Source