Bolton Wanderers promotion hopes could rest on failed Plymouth Argyle pursuit: View | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers goalkeeper Nathan Baxter is linked with replacing Michael Cooper at Plymouth Argyle but they must do all they can to keep the 'keeper

Highlights

Bolton Wanderers missed out on automatic promotion to the Championship on the final day last season before then losing 2-0 to Oxford United at Wembley Stadium in the League One play-off final.

The Trotters were dealt several significant injury blows in the second half of the season as they blew the chance to gain promotion with just 11 victories in 29 matches across all competitions after New Year’s Day.

One of the key injuries, arguably the key injury, that saw them eventually miss out was to goalkeeper Nathan Baxter, who missed 13 matches between mid-February and early April as Wanderers consistently dropped points and conceded far more goals on average than they had been doing.

With Baxter back fully fit, Bolton will believe they have the best goalkeeper in the league and he will be imperative to their chances of promotion – so rumours of his departure will be of great concern.

The stature and importance of Baxter

Replacing James Trafford at the start of last season was always going to be a difficult task for any goalkeeper but it didn’t take Bolton fans long to realise the quality of the goalkeeper that they had signed on a three-year deal following his release from Chelsea.

The former Hull City loanee produced some points-saving and match-winning moments throughout the first half of last season to leave Wanderers in a position where they were heavy favourites for automatic promotion as they entered into the spring months.

Prior to his injury, Wanderers were conceding fewer than a goal per game after 28 matches of the season but they ended up conceding over 1.2 goals per game by the end of the season with 18 let in in the 13 matches he missed.

In those 13 matches, Wanderers conceded more than a goal in a game on five occasions when they had done so on just seven occasions in the 28 matches that they had played up until his absence.

Perhaps not the most commanding of figures in the Bolton goal, his shot-stopping ability would be on par or better than any goalkeeper in the third tier and him missing a few months, it cannot be overstated, was probably the difference between Wanderers finishing in the top two and not doing so.

Bolton’s improved contingency plan

As good as Baxter was last season, one of the key issues and reasons as to why things went so wrong last season is that their backup goalkeeper, Joel Coleman, left a lot to be desired in terms of the quality of his performances.

The former Ipswich Town man, born in Bolton, struggled with his distribution and a lot of goals that were conceded during his time as the number one can be put down to direct goalkeeping errors.

This summer, Bolton have brought in former Reading goalkeeper Luke Southwood on a free transfer from Cheltenham Town, with many Robins supporters viewing him as one of the bright spots from a season in which they were eventually relegated.

On his competitive debut for the club the other day, Southwood made two vital saves as Bolton defeated Mansfield Town in a penalty shootout to progress into the second round of the EFL Cup.

Despite his heroics and the fact Ian Evatt has said that the summer signing hasn’t come to Bolton to settle to be the number two at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, it would still be an enormous blow to lose Baxter.

Baxter is the reported subject of interest from Plymouth Argyle following the departure of Michael Cooper from Home Park to Sheffield United and even with Southwood at the club, there is now precedent to fairly suggest the sale of Baxter could prove to be the difference between Bolton ending up as possible League One title winners or once again falling into the play-offs for a third successive season.

With some strong competition in the third tier, it really feels like Wanderers cannot afford to lose their number one this summer.