Bolton Wanderers must heed Plymouth Argyle transfer warning and solve issue | OneFootball

Nathan Baxter is one of several Bolton Wanderers players out of contract in the summer of 2025 and his deal must be extended by the club.

Bolton Wanderers have several key first-team players out of contract in the summer of 2025, such as former captain Ricardo Santos and vice-captain Gethin Jones, but there is one name that stands above everyone else as one that the Whites desperately need to tie down.

Josh Sheehan, who has captained Wales this year and won Wanderers’ Player of the Year for last season, is on the list of players in their final year, too, alongside key first-teamers Josh Dacres-Cogley and Randell Williams but, again, even the obvious pedigree and ability of those players do not head up the list of the most crucial potential departure.

Not just due to his age profile being a couple years younger than everybody else that has been mentioned at 25 years-old but due to just how important he is at the Toughsheet Community Stadium; it is Nathan Baxter that Bolton will be so desperate to keep hold of.

The former Chelsea goalkeeper signed a two-year deal when he joined on a free transfer from Chelsea in the summer of 2023 to replace James Trafford at Wanderers and, despite injuries, he has become integral to any success Bolton have had or will have.

The importance of Baxter at Bolton

Nathan Baxter’s importance at Bolton was underlined in the second-half of last season when a wrist injury saw him miss 13 matches as the Trotters went into the ‘run-in’.

Those 13 games saw the amount of goals conceded rise per game and points dropped also rise per game as Wanderers threw away an excellent opportunity to finish second or even win the title.

Baxter, perhaps not quite as sophisticated with the ball at his feet as others, produces match-winning and point-saving efforts routinely and his calming assuredness is that of a goalkeeper once rated so highly that there was a belief he may breakthrough at Chelsea.

The 25-year-old, in comparison to the other players with expiring contracts that have been mentioned, also has age on his side as well as the obvious importance that he carries onto the pitch.

Once again injured this season, Bolton are seeing the consequences of that because the gulf between Baxter and the next best in that position is a bigger gap than any of those mentioned, including Santos and Sheehan.

Contingency plans in place with Southwood

As mentioned, Baxter’s injury issues are the concern and perhaps the reason why he has had to fall down as low as the third-tier. There would perhaps be the fair argument that Baxter is a second-tier goalkeeper at least but no team has been willing to take the risk on backing him despite injury issues.

The former Hull City stopper missed 13 games of last season and he has now missed four games in a row across all competitions for Bolton due to injury, once again.

Northern Ireland international Luke Southwood, who came through the academy at Reading and was widely viewed as one of the best goalkeepers in League One last season whilst at relegated Cheltenham Town, joined the club on a free transfer.

He has become Baxter’s main competition, overtaking Bolton-born Joel Coleman who struggled quite badly when he came in to replace the number one last year.

Southwood has also made quite a few errors and the gulf between himself and Baxter, whilst closed on Coleman, remains quite large and does act as a reminder of the importance of ensuring Baxter, who was linked with Plymouth Argyle to replace Michael Cooper in the summer, gets tied down.

Ian Evatt has discussed the ambitions of Southwood, though, suggesting he hasn’t come in at Bolton just to be the back-up so there could well be a scenario where Baxter’s sale is sanctioned if an extension isn’t agreed.

That would be quite a daft decision even in spite of the injuries that Baxter has had a habit of suffering throughout his career.