Bolton Wanderers must make positive Victor Adeboyejo decision amid latest transfer news: View | OneFootball

Bolton striker Victor Adeboyejo has been linked with a move away from the club but that would surely be a mistake for the club to agree to.

It has already been a relatively busy start to the summer for League One promotion hopefuls Bolton Wanderers as they look to kick on and rebuild after losing the play-off final to Oxford United in May.

The Whites have brought in Chris Forino and Luke Southwood on free transfers from Wycombe Wanderers and Cheltenham Town respectively, as well as former Greek youth international Klaidi Lolos for an undisclosed fee from Crawley Town.

Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Cameron Jerome, as well as Declan John, have been released at the end of their contracts, whilst several loanees, Caleb Taylor, Zac Ashworth, Calvin Ramsay, Nathanael Ogbeta and Paris Maghoma all returned to their parent clubs.

What has not yet happened, though, is a major or notable sale and, in fact, under the Football Ventures ownership of the club, only Dapo Afolayan’s sale to St Pauli in January 2023 would be described as an unwanted outgoing with other departures, such as Will Aimson to Exeter City that same month, not perhaps on the same level.

Given FV’s stated intentions of building a sustainable club and decisions being made that follow the Brentford structure, for example, it would therefore seem unlikely that nobody leaves the club for a decent fee this summer.

One player that has been linked with a move away, once again, is striker Victor Adeboyejo but, with other assets potentially available to be sold, it would be a short-sighted decision to allow the former Barnsley man to leave.

Adeboyejo’s stuttering start and supporters’ negative perception

After the sale of Dapo Afolayan to St Pauli, Bolton scrambled before the close of the January transfer window to bring in a suitable replacement, or replacements, to continue with their push for promotion.

One of the arrivals was Adeboyejo from Burton Albion for a fee believed to be £500,000, which was his contracted release clause at the Brewers.

Adeboyejo, once of Chelsea and a player who had played the vast majority of Barnsley’s season as they finished sixth in the Championship in 2021, had notched 11 goals for a struggling Burton side in the first half of the 2022/23 campaign.

He managed just three strikes before the end of the season, though, for the Trotters and supporters were critical of the Nigerian for failing to influence play enough – which is something that will stand out when paired with the constantly moving Dion Charles up-front.

Adeboyejo did reach double figures in League One for the Whites in his first full season at the club last year, though, before a season-ending hamstring injury in early March.

Whilst the return on a £500,000 outlay has not yet been repaid nor perhaps come close to, Ian Evatt did say if he knew what he knew now about Adeboyejo that he would have paid double for the striker and there are clear signs of improvement to suggest it could well be an extremely smart acquisition.

Allowing his value to grow and him to prosper

As mentioned, Adeboyejo reached double figures with two months of the season to go last term and just at the time of his unfortunate and damaging injury, the 26-year-old forward had just shown signs of what he is all about.

In both matches of Bolton’s FA Cup third round replay against Premier League side Luton Town, Adeboyejo, without scoring, proved himself to be an extreme nuisance to the top-flight back-line, thus putting paid to the notion that had grown within the fanbase that he is ‘just a poacher’.

In games where Adeboyejo wasn’t scoring, he was influencing matches to a positive extent and a partnership had begun to blossom between himself and January addition Aaron Collins, who had joined the club for a fee of £750,000 from Bristol Rovers.

The best example of that, other than the 2-0 defeat of Cambridge United, was when Bolton rallied from two down to share a 2-2 draw at Oakwell against Barnsley and Collins assisted Adeboyejo for Bolton’s first; the first goal shared between the pair in that regard but the first of what seemed like could be many.

By the time Jonson Clarke-Harris, the now famed League One goalscorer, was 26, the new Rotherham United striker had only notched double figures on two occasions in the third tier – scoring 24 goals in 42 appearances for Bristol Rovers in the league, which is ironically the same amount that Adeboyejo has scored in the last two seasons for Burton and Bolton respectively, scoring double figures in each season.

Now Clarke-Harris is viewed by many as a ‘guarantee’ of goals, if there is such a thing, at this level and Adeboyejo, with time on his side, has the potential to fulfil a similar burgeoning reputation.

Turkish clubs are reportedly interested but that interest will only remain in January and even from elsewhere for a higher fee than what would likely be accepted or expected this summer if Adeboyejo continues on his upward trajectory.

It may be a slow burn to the start of his Bolton career but the signs of a centre-forward that has genuine quality are there and it would be foolish for Wanderers to cash in at this juncture; especially with the plan being to maximise value from a player.