Bolton Wanderers and Steven Schumacher sent clear transfer message - it's an "absolute priority" | OneFootball

FLW's Bolton Wanderers pundit highlights issues to address 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...

Bolton Wanderers will want to quickly put behind 2024-25, with the Trotters struggling to make any real impression on League One.

The campaign began with high hopes that Ian Evatt could guide his side to glory following the heartbreak of the previous season’s play-off defeat. However, things quickly took a turn for the worse, as a poor run of results soured the relationship between the head coach and the supporters, ultimately leading to his dismissal in January.

Former Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher was brought in as his replacement and made an immediate impact, propelling the Trotters back into play-off contention. Unfortunately, a dismal spell of form throughout March and April has dashed those hopes, leaving Bolton out of the running for a top-six finish.

Attention now turns to the summer and the rebuilding job ahead, with Wanderers fans expectant of a push for promotion again next year.

Bolton urged to strengthen defence in summer window

Football League World spoke to their resident Trotters pundit, Liam O'Meara, to get his take on what issue needs to be fixed at the club this summer.

"The number one priority is to strengthen in defensive positions," O'Meara told FLW.

"In centre-defence we have Santos out of contract, Gethin Jones out of contract, George Johnston has struggled a little bit this season, Eoin Toal has potentially been the same, so we need cover. Forrester and Forino have been pretty good this season, but we definitely need more bodies in there.

"It looks as if we will be playing a four at the back next season, so potentially don't need as many centre-backs, but we need people competing for those starting two positions.

"Aside from that, defensive midfield is an absolute priority. We have been using players in that position that don't offer enough defensively despite being good players. Josh Sheehan is a good player, Aaron Morley is a good player, George Thomason is a good player, but none of those three have defensive attributes.

"It is a big reason why we concede so many goals – we are soft in that part of the pitch.

"That area – that box of centre-backs and centre-midfielders – is an absolute priority."

Bolton's defensive issues raised

Last season, goalscoring bailed out the Bolton defence, with the Trotters netting 86 in the league. However, this campaign, they haven’t been as fortunate in front of goal, which has placed greater scrutiny on their defence.

In total, they have conceded 69 goals – the eighth-worst record in the league – and unless they manage a four-goal victory over Stevenage on Saturday, they will end the campaign with a negative goal difference.

For a side that began the season with hopes of automatic promotion, this simply isn’t good enough. Next season, Schumacher will need to find a solution.

Reinforcements in defence and defensive midfield are surely on the way, and the Trotters boss will be keen to get those signings completed as quickly as possible to integrate them into his system on the training ground in pre-season.