"He's a good player" - Bolton Wanderers manager Steven Schumacher weighs in on Aaron Collins, MK Dons transfer talk | OneFootball

Paul Warne's side are set to land a big fish from Lancashire.

Steven Schumacher has responded to reports that Bolton Wanderers forward Aaron Collins is edging closer to a move to MK Dons.

Of the deals that the Trotters were expected to be involved in/looking at this summer, the departure of last season's top scorer to a club in the division below them was not one that anybody had on their pre-window predictions. Alas, that is the reality. Collins - a prolific League One goalscorer - is set to head back to League Two to join Paul Warne's MK.

Collins moved to the Toughsheet Community Stadium in January 2024 from Bristol Rovers for £850,000. The Dons have agreed a deal with Wanderers, as FLW exclusively reported earlier this week, and are expected to pay upwards of the amount he cost to Bolton originally a year-and-a-half ago, as per Darren Witcoop.

The 28-year-old has generally continued in the rich vein of form that earned him the move in the first place, but, even with his addition, Bolton failed to achieve promotion in the last two campaigns.

Steven Schumacher responds to Aaron Collins, MK Dons talks

Schumacher was asked about the Welshman's move to Milton Keynes on Tuesday, but, as is often the case with managers, he didn't want to stir up any extra talk on a deal that is not officially done yet.

The Trotters manager said, via the Bolton News: "I can't say too much on that right now, because obviously it's stuff that's still ongoing. Aaron Collins is obviously somebody that did well for us last year, someone we think he's a good player.

"That's kind of all I can say currently on that, because it's not fair to speak about things that are not confirmed."

Bolton are also open to letting fellow attacker Dan N'Lundulu leave the club this summer.

He spent the majority of last season on loan at Cambridge United, who got relegated from the third division. Schumacher has already added some more strength in this area of the pitch via the free agent signing of Sam Dalby.

Steven Schumacher may not be overly disappointed with Aaron Collins move

The manager's response to questions about Collins' future was expectedly vague but also quite revealing.

Had the move not actually been on the cards, like the reports have suggested, Schumacher would have come out and refuted these claims.

So, while he didn't give much of a response, what he did say was fairly telling.

It's not a move that you'd imagine he would've considered as a potential possibility prior to the start of the transfer window, but it may not work out too badly as Collins was still yet to lock down a preferred position in Schumacher's system, despite his consistency in front of goal, for the most part.