"Anybody is up for sale" - Bolton Wanderers claim made as Aaron Collins' future referenced | OneFootball

FLW's Bolton Wanderers pundit outlines one player he doesn't want to lose this summer.

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...

Steven Schumacher's arrival at Bolton Wanderers in late January looked like it may take the Trotters into the play-offs, but a dreadful end to the season has cost them.

Through February and early March, he had them flying, but since a 2–1 win away at Burton Albion, they've managed just two wins in their next ten games, losing seven of them. This has left a sour feeling at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, particularly as they were one of the sides hotly tipped to be fighting it out for promotion.

Instead, they now sit eighth, eight points adrift of the top six, and could slip as low as tenth if results go against them on the final day of the season.

This summer will likely require something of an overhaul, though Schumacher will no doubt be eager to hold on to some of his top talents.

A summer overhaul is needed at Bolton Wanderers

To get a Trotters' point of view on what player he would most like to see retained this summer, Football League World spoke to their resident Bolton pundit, Liam O'Meara, who admitted that not many have impressed him this season.

"If you ask every Bolton fan, they wouldn't be concerned about anybody going," O'Meara told FLW.

"The players that we have that are theoretically 'better' carry a higher transfer value and we do need a rebuild.

"Players that I wouldn't like to see go - I would probably put Aaron Collins in there. He has had a pretty good season, but there is a lot more to come. Maybe Aaron Collins is the one; he has done well in terms of goal return this season. Even then, there is no desperation on my end to keep anybody in that team.

"I really want us to rebuild - this squad needs an overhaul, or as much as we can do considering not many contracts are up this year. The club has got a lot of work on its hands to give the squad the refresh it wants. On that basis, anybody is up for sale."

Bolton's contract situation may force sizeable rebuild

As alluded to by O'Meara, the contract situation at Wanderers may slow down any potential rebuild.

Currently, just six players have deals expiring in the summer and only a handful of them are actually first-team players. In terms of figures that could leave, you have Gethin Jones, Ricardo Santos, Josh Dacres-Cogley and Nathan Baxter as key players.

At times, some of these individuals have been superb, but many now appear to be reaching the natural end of their time at the club, with Santos, Baxter and Jones all having spent recent weeks as regulars on the bench.

Beyond that, they’ve got a number of players under contract who have struggled during the 2024–25 campaign, and a fresh outlook may be required for Schumacher to get them challenging at the top. Bolton are likely in for a busy summer of transfer activity, and it will be interesting to see how they emerge on the other side.