Bolton Wanderers set to sign 24-year-old on a free transfer | OneFootball

Bolton are having a very active start to the summer window.

Bolton Wanderers are set to beat EFL rivals to the signing of St Mirren centre-back Richard Taylor.

After adding some attacking talent in the form of striker Sam Dalby and creative midfielder Xavi Simons, defensive additions are clearly the new priority for Steven Schumacher this summer.

He had to work with a team, in his first half-season at the club, that he didn't construct and wasn't necessarily suited to his style of play. Things didn't click properly and they ended up missing the play-offs.

At the back was where their biggest liabilities were. They finished with a minus-three goal difference, having conceded 70 times across the 2024/25 League One campaign. Barnsley were the only team in the top half of the division to let in more efforts.

Bolton set to complete signing of Richard Taylor

In an attempt to bring some solidity to the Bolton backline, Schumacher is set to bring in Taylor from Scottish Premiership side St Mirren, according to Pete O'Rourke.

The 24-year-old was also wanted by other teams in Wanderers' division, as well as outfits from the Championship, but the Toughsheet Community Stadium is set to be his landing spot.

The six-foot-two defender mostly operated on the left of a back-three in his games north of the border last season. He kept five clean sheets in 34 league appearances last time out.

The Englishman played some lower league and non-league football in England, as well as a stint in the Republic of Ireland, before joining the Saints in January 2023. He is leaving them as a free agent and Bolton won't be required to pay a compensation fee as St Mirren didn't offer him a new deal.

Bolton are also targeting a left-back in the form of Hull City's Matty Jacob, as per the Bolton News. He is also attracting interest from Switzerland, though, so it won't be an easy purchase for the Trotters to make.

Goalkeeper is another area of focus for Schumacher. Football League World exclusively revealed that they were in for Crystal Palace shot-stopper Owen Goodman following his impressive loan spell with AFC Wimbledon last time out. He is set to join league rivals Huddersfield Town, per The Athletic.

Instead, they are set to bring in Teddy Sharman-Lowe on loan from Chelsea, as per O'Rourke. He helped Doncaster Rovers to win League Two last term.

Steven Schumacher deserves to be backed this heavily

Wanderers are being very proactive in Schumacher's first full window in charge of the club. They signed 21-year-old Charlie Warren from Felixstowe and Walton United earlier on Friday.

With a manager like Schumacher in charge, who was so public about his desire to get his teeth into the recruitment side of things this summer, it comes as no surprise that he is being properly backed to rebuild this squad in his image. And when you have the record in this division that he does, having won it with Plymouth Argyle the last time he had a full go of it, why wouldn't they?