Bolton Wanderers emerge with Leeds United and Southampton in race to sign Liverpool player | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers are flying high at the top end of League One and are certainly one of its most ambitious clubs, with the end ambition being a return to the Championship for the first time in five years.

Ian Evatt's side has a nice blend of young talent coming through or on loan from sides above them in the English footballing pyramid mixed with the experience required to get over the line in this enthralling promotion race, having fallen short in last season's play-off semi-finals.

With just days remaining of the January transfer window, the Whites are looking to add further numbers to their squad to maintain a promotion push, and one of Evatt's targets would be a statement signing if a deal came to fruition.

Bolton Wanderers pursuing Calvin Ramsay deal

The potential signing in question is that Wanderers are said to be in for Liverpool's young Scottish full-back, Calvin Ramsay, in what would be a loan deal for the remainder of the campaign.

That's according to Alan Nixon, who has revealed the prospect of the temporary signing via his Patreon account.

The report claims that Bolton are ready to swoop for the 20-year-old right-sided defender in the coming days, in what is being described as a "shock move" by Nixon.

It certainly represents an interesting signing, and one which will give current right-backs Josh Dacres-Cogley and Luke Matheson plenty of food for thought.

Championship interest in Calvin Ramsay

To an extent, such a description isn't wrong, as clubs in the Championship have been touted as potential destinations for the one-time Scotland international, and they are also chasing promotion in the second tier.

This comes in the form of Leeds United and Southampton, who are virtually neck and neck with each other in their ambitions of a first-time promotion back to the Premier League, with both Daniel Farke and Russell Martin eyeing up defensive reinforcements.

Leeds in particular have pinpointed the full-back position as an area which needs strengthening following Djed Spence's recall by Tottenham Hotspur and the departure of the long-serving Luke Ayling, who departed for Middlesbrough at the beginning of the transfer window.

Therefore, United have been linked with a plethora of potential targets, with Ramsay one of those, alongside Ben Johnson, Neco Williams and Connor Roberts.

It was revealed earlier in January in the Daily Mail's print version (January 18th, page 69) that Leeds had shown an interest after Ramsay's loan spell at Preston North End was cut short after making just two Championship appearances for Ryan Lowe's outfit. Meanwhile, Southampton's interest in the youngster came to the fore on January 24th, as per Lewis Steele.

A major coup for Bolton Wanderers

Given the aforementioned interest from two clubs harbouring ambitions of the Premier League, this signing represents a major coup for Bolton, and will no doubt raise the expectation around the club in the final 19 matches of the League One campaign as they battle alongside the likes of Portsmouth, Derby County, Peterborough United and Barnsley for one of two automatic promotion places.

If a deal does materialise, it also highlights the trust shown in Evatt from Jürgen Klopp and his assistant Pep Lijnders that this is the right place for youngsters to continue their development, as we've seen Conor Bradley - named as Bolton's player of the season in 2022/23 on loan from Anfield - recently gain regular minutes across all domestic and European fronts for the Reds.

The ambition doesn't end there, as Wanderers are also targeting Bristol Rovers' Aaron Collins, seeing an initial £600,000 bid knocked back by the Gas.