Dan Nlundulu signs permanently

Bolton Wanderers are delighted to announce the return of Dan Nlundulu on a three-year contract.

The dynamic forward spent the second half of the season on loan with the Whites and made a positive impact for Ian Evatt’s men on the charge to the League One Play-Offs.

Nlundulu now becomes a Wanderer on a permanent basis, moving from Southampton where he has been since 2013 and made 12 Premier League appearances.

The 24-year-old commits his future to the Club until the summer of 2026 and will be looking to push on once again to help Wanderers go one step further next campaign.

And Nlundulu felt like there was only one place for him to be ahead of the new season.

Dan said: “I’m really looking forward to being back. I enjoyed my loan spell and I feel at home here.

“We initially had the conversation in the January transfer window and there was only one place I wanted to go and that was here. I’m happy that it is all done now.

“The way the fans have been has meant a lot to me and I want to pay them back now by performing.”

Manager Ian Evatt recruited Nlundulu in January on loan and showed faith in the forward in a number of decisive games on the Wanderers’ march to the Play-Offs.

And that trust from the boss is something which Nlundulu has revelled in so far.

“The gaffer is a big reason why I’m here. Football is all about confidence and the fact that I’ve got the manager backing me, that’s the best thing I can ask for. I’m thankful that he has put his belief in me, and I’ll be trying my hardest to pay him back.

“I feel like there is unfinished business here and there is healthy competition within the squad, so we all need to work together to get the Club where it needs to be.

“I’m excited to get a full pre-season under my belt and I can’t wait to get started now.”

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Not sure about Dan TBH. He's athletic and can run for England but he has the touch of a rapist. Hopefully he'll come good under Evatt's tutelage.

wanderlust wrote:Not sure about Dan TBH. He's athletic and can run for England but he has the touch of a rapist. Hopefully he'll come good under Evatt's tutelage.

There really is no reason at all to post stuff like this.

I would normally have modded such needless and unwarranted abuse but then I get accused by you of having some personal vendetta against you.

So I've left it up hoping that at least one or two of our posters might post agreeing with me that such language is not what we want on here and rape is certainly not a topic for fun.

Well, do others think posts like this are ok and rape is funny?

I certainly don't.

He was dreadful in the main last season but he does work hard not a total lightweight. Hopefully contract is reasonable.

Probably a gamble but he showed flashes of skill and maybe the next Sami with some game time under his belt.

Sluffy wrote:
There really is no reason at all to post stuff like this.

I would normally have modded such needless and unwarranted abuse but then I get accused by you of having some personal vendetta against you.

So I've left it up hoping that at least one or two of our posters might post agreeing with me that such language is not what we want on here and rape is certainly not a topic for fun.

Well, do others think posts like this are ok and rape is funny?

I certainly don't.

Agreed. It's just attention seeking nonsense. What does it even mean?

This is the most bonkers signing we've ever made, I honestly can't remember a more mystifying signing in my time watching Bolton.

He did absolutely fook all for us during the run in apart from a goal in the dead rubber at Bristol Rovers and yet we give him a 3 year contract. We shouldn't be giving anyone a 3 year contract unless we sign Erling Haaland or Alexander Isak.

The manager admitted our lack of goals cost us last season, then goes and retains the exact same strike force! It's fooking madness.

Any mention of a fee?

Natasha Whittam wrote:This is the most bonkers signing we've ever made, I honestly can't remember a more mystifying signing in my time watching Bolton.

He did absolutely fook all for us during the run in apart from a goal in the dead rubber at Bristol Rovers and yet we give him a 3 year contract. We shouldn't be giving anyone a 3 year contract unless we sign Erling Haaland or Alexander Isak.

The manager admitted our lack of goals cost us last season, then goes and retains the exact same strike force! It's fooking madness.

We've made quite a few bonkers signings in the past but this is seriously worrying.

"I know where we want to be and need to be" says Auntie Sharon, whilst IE goes and gives a three year contract to a striker plainly not good enough for Cheltenham Ladies College.

He held the ball up well but always seemed to try one extra trick when he didn't need to. The jury is out for me. Not sure he has 15-20 goals in him but hope i'm proved wrong.

I must be out on a limb then because I thought Dan showed terrific potential last year without ever really delivering anything. I agree with Evatt though that he sees the raw material there to make him into a really good player. I am pleased it’s a permanent and think he’s a bargain if it is a nominal fee as suggested and the 3 year contract ensures that if he does come good he either stays here or we get a significant fee for him. I’m not in the least concerned about goals next year because I think a lot of our problem was not creating for the strikers not the strikers themselves. Hopefully now we’ve got all the players from the season start they can find a blend that suits them.

Norpig wrote:He held the ball up well but always seemed to try one extra trick when he didn't need to. The jury is out for me. Not sure he has 15-20 goals in him but hope i'm proved wrong.

In theory at least he is our 'fourth' striker, with Charles, Bod and £500k Victor ranked in front of him, so I don't really understand why many people are making such a fuss of this apart for the contract length - and maybe that was sort of part of the deal for presumably signing him from Southampton for free where he still had a year on his contract left.

In other words a fee to Southampton plus a normal 2 year deal or Southampton waiving the fee if Bolton give the lad a 3 year deal instead?

He had been at Southampton for 10 years since the age of 14.

I'm speculating here but what wage will he be on at Bolton - £4k per week say - and if Southampton want £200k for him - well it amounts to more of less the same amount.

Just me just simply guessing everything of course.

I've not seen him play other than on the video streams and you can only see what the camera sees as it follows the ball, but maybe he's been brought in as a like for like for Kachunga but seven years younger and with a potential resale value too.

I'm not trying to knock him by likening him to Kachunga, it is quite clear he did a job that Evatt wanted for the team - I merely suggesting he might take on the same role (but with a few more goals thrown it to).


Whilst I'm on I'd like to thank Natasha for calling out Wanderlust comment and complete and utter shame on the rest of you for not doing so.

Rape should NEVER be treated frivolously, trivially or in fun.

Some of you even have daughters too....

Ten Bobsworth wrote:
We've made quite a few bonkers signings in the past but this is seriously worrying.

"I know where we want to be and need to be" says Auntie Sharon, whilst IE goes and gives a three year contract to a striker plainly not good enough for Cheltenham Ladies College.

Hmmm well IE seems to see something in him so i think i would rather back his judgement rather than some of the geniuses on here if he turns out to be bobbins then hey ho !!!!!

Norpig wrote:He held the ball up well but always seemed to try one extra trick when he didn't need to. The jury is out for me. Not sure he has 15-20 goals in him but hope i'm proved wrong.

Now you know I love you but I'm struggling to agree with that.
IMO he is shit at holding the ball up - it just bounces off him because his touch is so poor and the defenders just accept possession gracefully.
Love his athleticism but he can't control the ball bless him.

bryan458 wrote:
Hmmm well IE seems to see something in him so i think i would rather back his judgement rather than some of the geniuses on here if he turns out to be bobbins then hey ho !!!!!

Sorry but I always doubted IE's judgement on Delfouesno, Kachunga and that Maddison geezer, to name but a few and, from what I've seen so far, Ndundulu is every bit as unconvincing.

'Second touch is a tackle' seems to sum him up so far. But he's only 24 so he has time to improve. All he needs is a pre-season.

wanderlust wrote:Any mention of a fee?

Turns out it's "a six figure fee"

I'd kinda like to know what those six figures are.....

Not quite ready to chuck him under the bus just yet.
Loan players often suffer under the burden of wanting to try a little bit too hard, so, although he couldn't claim to have pulled up any trees, I'm willing to give him a full season, with a contract under his belt to show us what he's got.
Or will he be my new 'Brickfeet'?

Radhi Jaidi: Ex-Saint Dan Nlundulu can be a 'beast' for Bolton Wanderers

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Dan Nlundulu counts as one of the recent success stories of Southampton’s renowned academy – and the former Wanderer who set him on his way to Premier League football believes he can now thrive away from St Mary’s.

Radhi Jaidi worked with Bolton’s new permanent striker signing for a couple of years in the Saints’ Under-23s team and had monitored his progress through the club’s youth ranks from the age of 14.

The former Tunisia international, now assistant manager at Belgian club Cercle Brugge, reckons Nlundulu can fulfil his potential knowing he has the full backing of manager, Ian Evatt.

“I think he is in a very good place at Bolton,” Jaidi told The Bolton News. “For a player to succeed it is down to them but also to those people around him, the support staff, the coaching team, to make sure you are getting the very best out of them.

“Looking from the outside I can see that Ian Evatt has done a good job at Bolton and I think his team is set-up in a way that can be a benefit for Dan.

“The team has had success and it plays a modern brand of progressive football. I think it fits for him because he struggled under Raplh Hassenhuttl at Southampton when they played 4-4-2.

“Bolton play more of a 3-4-3 and it will suit him, enable him to move more freely between the lines, but he must also mature and make sure he is making the right decisions. The coaching he gets at Bolton will help him do that, I am sure.”

Jaidi spent two years as a player with Wanderers in the Premier League, earning a fearsome reputation as a centre-half with an eye for goal from set pieces.

He moved on to Birmingham City in 2006 and then to Southampton, where he spent a decade as a player, then coach.

During that time he was able to chart Nlundulu’s progress closely and, eventually, help him progress to first team level.

“I was working with the Under-21s and sometimes I would go to watch the younger teams and other coaches and Dan was coming through,” he said. “I remember his brother (Gael) was playing for Portsmouth and I think Dan was 14 or 15 when he came in at Southampton.

“He was born in France and I believe his parents were Congolese, but he settled very quickly and I saw him embrace the culture at Southampton, the habits, the way of life, and in the end he became more English than anything.

“I have to say he stayed very humble. He is the type of person who will speak to everyone, he is very social and approachable, and he will listen and take on board information, which is very important for a coach.

“I think he is an emotional person too, who gives real importance to the relationships he has with the support staff and with the coaches.”

Nlundulu arrived on loan in January, having played the first half of the season at Cheltenham Town. And though the eagerness to impress in his early games was evident, the young striker had to get to grips with the practicalities of playing a very different role for Bolton.

Evatt admitted more work was needed on his fitness. Nlundulu missed a few weeks with a hamstring injury and was consigned mainly to substitute appearances until the back end of the season when flickers of his best form began to shine through. A first goal was scored on the final game of the regular season, at Bristol Rovers, and Nlundulu started the play-off second leg at Barnsley.

Jaidi hopes his former charge can stay out of the treatment room this season and then get the opportunity to showcase his natural skills on a regular basis. Known in the dressing room as 'The Beast' in his time at Wanderers, the former World Cup star has a good feeling that Nlundulu can also wreak havoc in League One.

“It is very important for Dan that he stays fit and what happened last season maybe reminded of him of what he went through with Southampton because he got a couple of injuries and they slowed his progression,” he said.

“I think one thing he has to work on is controlling those moments of emotion, both joy and disappointment, because when he is fit, I think he can be a beast of a player.

“He is very strong, he can play a physical game, but he has also a very technical side, he has vision and can bring other players into play. He can play with his back to goal but he can also play the other way at speed.

“We were working hard with him on getting forward and making intelligent runs in the red zones, the areas of the pitch where he can score goals, and I think he showed a lot of progress in that area.

“Now he has joined Bolton permanently he has an opportunity to learn and improve further to help the team but it is so important that he can stay fit and play on a regular basis.”

Though Nlundulu’s time on the pitch in the later months of last season was somewhat restricted, he had shown enough on the training ground to convince Evatt that a permanent deal was worth pursuing.

The Bolton boss even made comparisons to Brentford and England striker Ivan Toney’s journey around several loan clubs in his career, and Jaidi believes at 24 years old Nlundulu is still very capable of returning to the top level.

“Dan made it to the first team level at Southampton in the good times and I think he was little unlucky not to have played more football,” he said.

“There was a lot of competition and maybe some pressure on the coach at the time.

“But I understand the comparison. I agree, he has developed and matured as a loan player in different environments, and he is unpredictable. He can score different types of goals.

“He can contribute assists, come deeper to support and progress the ball, and I think he can be dangerous in the penalty box too. That is a modern type of forward player.

“He needs now consistency in performance and to add more maturity to his game.”

Jaidi helped Cercle Brugge to second place in the Belgian Jupiter League last season and is now preparing for European competition this year.

He still keeps a close eye on events at Bolton, however, and now has a special reason to make a trip to the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

“I do miss the place and I need to come back over and refresh a few of my memories there,” he said. “I loved being at Bolton, the people, the club, and I would be very happy to return soon and see Dan playing well.

“Things are going well over here. The standard of the Belgian league has improved because there is a lot more investment in the clubs and the quality of players has improved in recent years. It is a competitive league.

“I am happy to see Bolton doing well. I hope they find success this season.”

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