Femi Azeez signs: Ian Evatt will be on cloud nine if this happens at Bolton Wanderers | OneFootball

The possibilities at Bolton are endless this summer so we delve into a potential coup and a major sale that could define their transfer window.

After comfortably losing the League One play-off final 2-0 to Oxford United, the post-mortem from Bolton Wanderers and their supporters is still ongoing ahead of having to reset and rebuild once again to challenge for promotion.

One thing that many seem to agree on would be a need to change the system in order to unlock and get the best out of Bolton’s current personnel with the desired change being a switch from a back three to a 4-3-3, which helped Bolton finish third and gain automatic promotion from League Two.

Ian Evatt is a self-professed disciple of Pep Guardiola and has suggested in the past his preference is to play the 4-3-3 so with a full summer to recruit for that system, knowing they have tactical flexibility to revert to a back three, too, it could be excellent timing for Evatt and Wanderers to kick on after back-to-back failed play-off campaigns.

The next few months are likely to be telling for Bolton and here are two eventualities that the manager may be hoping to see...

Femi Azeez as a marquee arrival

22-year-old Femi Azeez is a player that will likely be the subject of strong interest from League One clubs and Championship sides this summer with some uncertainty remaining over Reading’s off-field situation.

If the Royals are ship shape and ready to go for the League One campaign, though, then he could be an essential component to any top-six push that the Berkshire side embark upon.

Wanderers will have to view themselves alongside the relegated sides and fellow losing play-off teams from this season as one of the ‘sharks’ in League One and with not many holes in the squad to fill, bringing him genuine quality that raises the level is a luxury and priority afforded to sporting director Chris Markham.

Azeez played all across the front three at times for Reading in the 2023/24 campaign, in a season of major off-field upheaval that generally affected on-pitch performances but perhaps not to the extent it should have and their manager Ruben Selles, as well as players like the attacker, were the reason for restoring pride.

He scored eight goals and provided nine assists in 46 appearances in a breakout season for Reading last year and is expected to go on to become one of the very best players in the league this time around.

With Wanderers able to play the likes of Carlos Mendes Gomes and Aaron Collins out wide on the left, where they have thrived for previous clubs such as Morecambe and Bristol Rovers respectively, identifying a left-footed right-winger will be key this summer and Azeez is hardly a wild or obscure shout but his signing would compliment Wanderers’ style of football and ambitions extremely well.

Bolton cash in on Dion Charles

There is an expectation this summer that the likes of in-demand captain Ricardo Santos, player of the year Josh Sheehan, and top scorer from the last two seasons Dion Charles will be the subject of interest themselves in this transfer window.

The Northern Ireland international forward has been linked with the likes of Stoke City and Watford in the recent past and the likelihood of the former Accrington Stanley man, who has scored 49 goals for Bolton since joining them for a fee of £320,000 in January 2022, being wanted again is high.

There could well be an argument that his departure will help Bolton to play in a more suited way to the 4-3-3 with Charles’ best work coming in a partnership alongside the likes of Dapo Afolayan, Victor Adeboyejo, or Jon Dadi Bodvarsson. It is his pressing and work rate that is so essential to how Bolton have played but his general on-the-ball work has never been to a very high standard and, as a lone frontman in a possession-based side, that could mean he comes unstuck if the switch in system is made.

So, whilst some Wanderers supporters would inevitably be disappointed to see their prolific forward go, with the likes of the aforementioned Adeboyejo and Collins still on the books as well as the opportunity to reinvest some of the transfer fee gained from any potential Charles departure, it could well end up being a smart sale.

Another issue with Charles would be the fact he has been prone to injury during his time at the Toughsheet Community Stadium so being able to trust him enough to stay fit to build an attack that may not suit his best attributes anyway would also seem a stretch.

The suggestion that Evatt would be on 'cloud nine' that his top goalscorer from the last two seasons would be sold may seem nonsensical but there is justification for it. Wanderers' new model is about buying low and selling high, as every normal and sensible club should be, but only Afolayan has been sold on for a relatively chunky fee since the takeover of Football Ventures.

Off-the-field, there could be great satisfaction if Charles was sold for a good profit and on it, albeit Evatt may not publicly demonstrate or announce it, there may well be a similar feeling of relief and streamlining that allows Evatt to play in a more focused and more suitable way to what he wants to do.

Dion Charles has been a magnificent servant to Wanderers and will likely still score goals should he remain at the club but cashing in on him this summer in order to properly reinvest to aid an evolution of the side may well be high on the agenda for Evatt and the club.