Bolton Wanderers set to face Ricardo Santos battle after play-off heartbreak: View | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers are set for another season in League One after suffering play-off heartbreak against Oxford United on Saturday.

The Trotters went into the 2023/24 season being among the favourites, not only for promotion but also for winning the League One title.

Ian Evatt’s team lived up to those expectations with their start, but with form dipping in and out, it became clear that Portsmouth were going to take some stopping.

It was then down to Bolton and Derby to get the second automatic spot, but the Whites missed out on that to the Rams and had to settle for the play-offs.

Again, the club went into those favourites to succeed and lived up to that as they got past Barnsley over two legs. But then they were unable to get past Oxford United in the final, with the Us winning 2-0 and claiming their spot in next season’s Championship.

There will be a lot of disappointment around Bolton right now, with them failing to seal promotion, meaning plans could be affected by what the club wanted to do in the transfer window.

But it could also mean that they may be unable to keep hold of one or two key players for next season, with defender Ricardo Santos likely to be one who could head to the exit door.

Ricardo Santos’ situation at Bolton Wanderers

Ricardo Santos has been with Bolton Wanderers since 2020, when he joined the club on a free transfer after leaving Barnet.

The defender was mightily impressive in his three years with Barnet after joining them from Peterborough United.

The 28-year-old instantly became a firm fixture in Bolton’s starting XI, playing in all 46 League Two games as the club sealed promotion to League One.

Since that season, Santos has played more or less every game he has been available for, with the last couple of seasons seeing him miss games through injury.

The Portuguese defender has shown great strides forward with the Trotters, becoming their captain and being key in them being in the play-offs in the last two seasons.

It was reported by James Nursey before the League One play-off final that Bolton could lose Santos this summer, even if the club reaches the Championship.

Now that seems even more likely, given that the club is still in League One and Santos has just 12 months remaining on his contract.

Ricardo Santos will likely leave Bolton after play-off heartbreak

When Bolton Wanderers signed Ricardo Santos in the summer of 2020, probably not many supporters of the club would have expected the player to be as important as he’s become.

As stated, Santos has played more or less every game that he has been available for, which still means he is playing the majority of the club’s league games.

In the season just gone, Santos played in 34 League One games, as well as all three play-off matches the Trotters played.

In those league games, Santos averaged 86 minutes on the pitch, and his performances even got him noticed by Sofascore.com.

The centre-back didn’t manage to score for Bolton this season in the league, but he did still contribute going forward.

He created two big chances for his teammates, as well as averaging 0.3 key passes, which helped him pick up his single assist of the campaign.

But it was defensively where Santos impressed yet again, as he made 0.7 interceptions as well as 1.9 tackles per game and was only dribbled past 0.3 times. This all helped him keep 14 clean sheets for the club and helped him finish the season with a Sofascore statistical rating of 7.11.

It was another impressive campaign for Santos on an individual basis, and with him entering the final 12 months of his contract this summer, his time at Bolton could be about to end.

The centre-back has been excellent for the Trotters ever since joining the club, and that will have put him on the radar of several clubs, no doubt, in particular from the Championship.

So, given his situation, he could well be pursued by clubs from the second tier, and now that Bolton are set to remain in League One, his exit could be even more apparent, as the club may have no choice but to let him go, as he is in the final 12 months of his deal, and if they run the risk of keeping him, he could leave for nothing in a year’s time.

Bolton have got everything they could have out of Santos, given he was a free transfer, so while it will be disappointing to lose him, Bolton may see this as a chance to let the defender pursue a move elsewhere and get some money into the club for his services.