Bolton Wanderers: Ian Evatt makes Brentford transfer admission after play-off final defeat | OneFootball

Ian Evatt has made a frank admission about Bolton Wanderers' chances of signing Brentford loanee Paris Maghoma permanently this summer, following their defeat to Oxford United in the play-off final.

The past two seasons have felt like disappointments for Bolton. They accumulated 168 points across the 2022/23 and 2023/24 League One campaigns, but both of them ended in play-off disappointment for Evatt's team.

The first of the two seasons saw them lose in the play-off semi-final to Barnsley across two legs. This year, it was Bolton's turn to go to Wembley. They beat the Tykes in the semi-finals, lining up a date with Oxford at the home of English football.

Two goals from Josh Murphy and a lacklustre performance later, and the Wanderers fans were staring across to the other side of the stadium, watching the yellow-donned opposition supporters bounce around as they secured their spot in the Championship.

Evatt has been aided by the help of some top talent over the past 730 days, including some temporary stays by young Premier League talents, including Liverpool's Conor Bradley. He wasn't enough to get them over the hump the first time, and that was the case the last time too.

Maghoma was one of the more impressive loanees at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in the most recent campaign, but the Bolton boss doesn't see how they are going to be able to bring him back after their play-off final failure.

Ian Evatt's frank Paris Maghoma transfer claim

The former Barrow boss believes that his side will not be able to sign the young midfielder because they missed out on promotion to the second tier.

"It is going to be difficult to sign Paris now we are stuck in League One," Evatt said to the Bolton News. "That is how it is. We are thankful for him, thankful for what he has achieved this season, and we wish him well."

The 23-year-old was forced off due to injury shortly after the start of the second half against Oxford. Maghoma sent this message to the Wanderers faithful after the loss in the final, via Instagram.

"I’m not sure where to even begin, the game on Saturday has truly broken my heart. We didn’t give you the performance that you deserved. You’ve cheered us on this season, you’ve been our 12th man. You’ve helped us push through and on the most important day, we couldn’t deliver and for that I am sorry.

"This season, playing for this amazing club has been the best year of my life. You’ve treated me like family, from the staff, the players and you fans. It’s been nothing but a joy playing at the Toughsheet. I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it, the highs and also the lows.

"Because of the tremendous love I’ve been shown, on Saturday after the first minute I knew that I couldn’t give up. I knew I had to try and fight and do everything in my power to carry on. But at the end of the day, I couldn’t. I really wanted to end the season on a high but I guess God had something else planned.

"Next season, Bolton are going to need its fans to support, cheer and push the team through so I ask that you stick with the club, keep the belief, be the anchor and help the club get promotion into the Championship.

"Bolton, you have a very special place in my heart. I’ve made memories and friends that I will cherish for life. Once a Wanderer, always a Wanderer."

Bolton are stuck in more ways than one

Evatt himself put it quite succinctly when he described his side as being: "stuck," in the third tier. They feel that their team, and the club as a whole, shouldn't still be in this league, but yet they are.

This latest setback pushes plans for the future even further down the road, and there are more things to be concerned with than just their league standing.

The burden of being a League One club is obvious. This is a club that has the potential to grow much bigger than it currently is, but will struggle to unless they unshackle themselves from the chains that they currently find themselves in.

But a question that should be running through the heads of those associated with Wanderers is 'What should we do next?'

Bolton have a very strong squad, a manager that plays good football and has got them to fifth and third in consecutive years. He's not been able to finish the job off, but would they really sack Evatt? It'd be a very risky move.

The club is in an uncomfortable position where they're probably scratching their heads as to what their next moves should be, and that is not a great position to be in whilst all the other sides are moving ahead with their plans for the 24/25 campaign.