Phil Parkinson's first 5 signings as Bolton Wanderers manager - Where are they now? | OneFootball

As relegation down to League One was confirmed at the end of the 2015/16 season, Bolton Wanderers turned to manager Phil Parkinson to try and get the club back to the second tier of English football.

Following a historic four-and-a-half-year spell at Bradford City, which included a League Cup final appearance and one of the greatest-ever FA Cup shocks against Chelsea, Parkinson was appointed by the Trotters in the summer of 2016 after the departure of Neil Lennon.

The now 55-year-old spent just over three years in charge at Bolton, spanning 157 games until August 2019, which included promotion back to the Championship and achieving survival the following campaign.

Football League World is going to take a look at his first five signings and where they are at now.

1 Chris Taylor

The midfielder was the first arrival of the Parkinson era back in the summer of 2016 on a free transfer from Blackburn Rovers.

Taylor failed to establish himself as a regular starter for the Whites and only went on to play 23 times for the club without providing any goal contributions.

In a disrupted spell, the Oldham-born man was sent out on loan to his boyhood club before moving permanently to Blackpool in June 2018.

Today at 36 years old, Taylor has hung up his boots and is currently the Under-18s coach of seventh tier outfit FC United of Manchester.

2 Mark Beevers

The central defender joined Bolton in July 2016 and turned out to be one of Parkinson’s more successful additions during his reign.

Beevers ended up making over 100 appearances for the Wanderers and was an ever-present in the promotion-winning team of 2017.

With an eye-catching 12 goals registered during a three-year stay, the 33-year-old completed a move to League One side Peterborough United and played 101 games for the Posh.

Nowadays, you will find Beevers plying his trade in the A-League with Perth Glory.

3 Jamie Proctor

The first signing in the forward department was Proctor, who had previous connections to Parkinson during their time together at Bradford.

Despite their history, the Preston-born striker failed to have the intended impact in a Bolton shirt and scored just once in 29 games.

After a loan stint in January 2017 to Carlisle United, the 31-year-old left for Rotherham United on a permanent basis at the end of the season.

Proctor remains in the EFL to this day and is currently representing League Two outfit Barrow after moving to Holker Street this summer.

4 Mark Howard

Parkinson’s fourth signing was goalkeeper Mark Howard, who arrived with impressive pedigree following a four-year spell at Sheffield United.

After starting the season as the designated number one, Howard sustained a broken thumb and ligament damage in November 2016 against Peterborough and subsequently lost his place to Ben Alnwick.

He made 39 appearances for the Trotters before leaving in 2018 for Blackpool.

Today, the 36-year-old has teamed back up with Parkinson at League Two new-boys Wrexham and appears to be the starter between the posts following the recent retirement of Ben Foster.

5 Andrew Taylor

The fifth signing made at Bolton was of defender Taylor, who arrived on loan in 2016 from Wigan Athletic.

The left-back went on to feature 88 times for the side and was another key component in their promotion back to the Championship in 2017.

After his successful loan spell, Taylor made a full-time switch the following campaign but left in 2019 after deciding to retire from the game at 33.

Since then, the now 37-year-old reunited with Parkinson as a first-team coach at Sunderland and is currently the loans' manager at Leeds United.