Bolton Wanderers first-team player attracting interest as pre-contract arrangements lined up | OneFootball

The Bolton defender’s contract runs out in a few months, and clubs are already moving in

Bolton Wanderers defender Gethin Jones is being considered by a number of A-League clubs in Australia for a summer transfer.

That’s according to journalist Alan Nixon, via his Patreon, where he revealed that the 29-year-old could soon depart the Toughsheet Community Stadium to play his domestic football back in his home country of Australia.

Perth-born Jones’ contract with Boltonexpires this summer, meaning the Socceroos international can now sign a pre-contract deal with clubs outside of England.

It has not yet been revealed which A-League clubs are enquiring about Jones, but a return to his home nation could be a tempting one for the versatile defender.

Gethin Jones set for potential Bolton Wanderers exit this summer

Having signed his last deal in 2023, running until the end of the current 2024/25 season, Jones is now eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with any club outside England, a fact which appears to have been noted by Australian clubs.

Should this interest be solidified, despite it signalling a return to his native Australia, the Perth-born defender has never played professional football outside of England, aside from international duty, having been capped six times for the Socceroos.

Jones joined Bolton in 2020 on a free transfer from Carlisle United, and has gone on to be a mainstay in the Greater Manchester club's starting 11.

According to Nixon's update, the interested A-League sides are weighing up an approach with a view for the 2025-26 season, where Jones will be available, rather than an immediate mid-season January move.

Gethin Jones would be a big loss for Bolton Wanderers

There is no doubting how important Jones has been for Bolton during his time at the club, having made 172 appearances in the four-and-a-half seasons he's been there for.

He joined during the club's one-season stop in League Two, and has remained a constant in the side through their promotion to League One, and their agonisingly close encounters with elevation back to the Championship in recent seasons.

Jones started off playing at right-back for Bolton when he first joined, before switching to feature more prominently in the centre of defence in the past couple of years, showing an adaptability that would be missed by Bolton.

At just 29 years old, and with the A-League not being one of the world's top divisions, some may question whether Jones is making the jump too early in his career, but there are obvious emotional factors in returning to the country of his birth.

Bolton Wanderers will need to replace Gethin Jones directly if he departs

From Bolton's perspective, losing Jones would represent a clearing out of the deadwood in the club: he's still very much an important part of their first-team setup.

He has only made eight League One appearances this season, but that is due largely to a knee injury that ruled the player out for the first few months of the season.

Speaking to The Bolton News on Jones' return from the treatment room, manager Ian Evatt said: “He is an important player for us and one who can obviously play in a wing-back role or as a centre-back, so I think that’s an important string to his bow."

Jones has been one of the most used players during Evatt's reign at Bolton, and they may not have expected to lose him this early in his career.