Bolton Wanderers and Ian Evatt warned against repeating "recent failings" in January transfer window | OneFootball

FLW's Bolton fan pundit has identified what past mistake the club must avoid making in the January window

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…

It has been a disappointing campaign for Bolton Wanderers as they eye promotion to the Championship.

Ian Evatt’s side reached the play-off final last year, but suffered defeat at the hands of Oxford United.

The club have been unable to maintain that level of form into this campaign, with the Whites outside of the play-off places.

They will be looking to bridge that gap through the January window, but will need to be cautious about avoiding major transfer mistakes that could set back their ambitions even further.

Evatt is also under increasing pressure to turn around results, so must avoid past errors in the market if he is to keep his position with the League One side longer-term.

Bolton issued Premier League loan warning

When asked about what previous mistakes the club must avoid making again, FLW’s Bolton fan pundit Liam O’Meara pinpointed inexperienced loan players coming in from Premier League sides.

He name-checked past arrivals such as Shola Shoretire, Owen Beck and Calvin Ramsay as ones to remember, instead insisting that experience is needed in Evatt’s squad this month.

“I’m keen for us to avoid a Premier League loan that’s quite unproven,” O’Meara told Football League World.

“For every good one that we’ve had, there’s also been quite a few recent failings.

“Calvin Ramsay comes to mind, Owen Beck comes to mind, Shola Shoretire.

“There’s been quite a few of these Premier League loans that have come with very little experience that are expected to make an impact straight away in the first team.

“And I really think, with the difficulties at Bolton at the moment, we need experience.”

Bolton are currently 10th in the League One table, four points adrift of the play-off places, but with a game in hand on some of their top six rivals.

January will be crucial for Bolton

There are still a couple of weeks left for Bolton to make any additions to the squad, with a top six finish still very attainable.

This is an important period of the season for the club, as the right signing could have a major impact.

Inexperienced Premier League players going to League One have a mixed record, so avoiding them might be what they have to do because they need guaranteed success in the market.

While the upside can be quite great, with James Trafford’s loan being a good example, the downside can be even worse as it wastes up a loan space and other valuable resources if it doesn’t work out.