“When we first signed him I wasn’t too sure…” – Bolton Wanderers fan issues early verdict on Manchester City loanee | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Bolton Wanderers were able to use their links to Premier League clubs in the January transfer window, with their locality to two of English football’s giants coming in handy.

They were able to land talented Manchester United teenage attacker Shola Shortire midway through the month, and on deadline day Ian Evatt bolstered his defence with the addition of Luke Mbete from Premier League champions Manchester City.

Mbete played three times for City in cup competitions last season, but was sent out on loan to develop at Huddersfield Town at the start of the current campaign – after just six appearances though and out of favour with then-head coach Mark Fotheringham his deal was terminated to let him head to the high-flying Trotters of League One.

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Who did Bolton play in their first match of the 2000s?

West Brom Grimsby QPR Walsall

Having been on the bench for his first match available against Cheltenham Town, Mbete was thrust into the starting 11 for the 5-0 victory over Peterborough United as an injury to George Johnston opened up a spot in the side, and then followed that up with a goal in another 5-0 demolition job of MK Dons at the University of Bolton Stadium.

It has been a positive start to life in a Bolton shirt for the 19-year-old, and despite being underwhelmed when he first arrived, FLW’s Wanderers fan pundit Oliver Jaques is already eating humble pie regarding Mbete.

“I’m very happy with Mbete,” Oliver said.

“I’ll be honest, when we first signed him I wasn’t too sure based on the opinions of some Huddersfield fans and how he got on there earlier in the season, I thought it was not what we really needed – a young, potentially naive centre-half to replace Aimson who was the opposite of that as a good senior pro, a good backup option.

“He was only brought in as a backup option but due to Johnston’s injury he’s played two or three games in a row now and he’s look really assured of himself and grabbed his first goal (against MK Dons) and took it really well, a good header.

“So, I’m really encouraged and I think he might cement his place in the first-team.”

The Verdict

Mbete is still in the early days of his career and his move to Huddersfield will have been a steep learning curve that will have taught him plenty.

He has now gone from a team fighting relegation though where he was un-fancied and into a squad that is vying for promotion, so it isn’t a shock to see he’s slotted in next to two in-form defenders in Ricardo Santos and Eoin Toal.

The teenager has someone there in the form of Santos to guide him through games, and whilst he needs to make sure first and foremost that his defensive work is solid, getting goals as well can never be a bad thing.

There is still a long way to go in the 2022-23 season and the first two performances of Mbete have set a high standard, but if he continues to play in that way then he could find himself in the Championship with either Bolton or another club in 2023-24.