Bolton Wanderers should hijack Reading FC move for £15k-a-week ace | OneFootball

Bolton Wanderers should rival Reading in the race to sign Matt Ritchie from Portsmouth this summer.

Bolton Wanderers have embarked upon a major summer rebuild, with Steven Schumacher getting a lot of what he wants, but there is still a little bit of work to do before the close of the summer transfer window.

The Trotters endured a miserable 2024/25 League One campaign, which saw the end of Ian Evatt’s four-and-a-half-year reign before Schumacher oversaw an eighth-placed finish in the third-tier.

That wasn’t and isn’t good enough for Wanderers and drastic things took place over the summer, with Sporting Director Fergal Harkin and Head of Recruitment Jimmy Dickinson being brought in to assist Schumacher in the recruitment strategy.

Former captain Ricardo Santos, vice-captain Gethin Jones and goalkeeper Nathan Baxter were among those let go by the club at the end of their contracts, whilst last season’s top scorer Aaron Collins, captain George Thomason and another goalkeeper, Luke Southwood, have been sold on to Milton Keynes Dons, Wrexham and Reading respectively.

Bolton have been very busy in the transfer market, and they still have a couple of positions left to fill, with one of them being out wide, and one player they should be targeting for that role is former Newcastle United man Matt Ritchie.

Bolton should make a move for Matt Ritchie

Last summer, Ritchie departed Newcastle after eight years on Tyneside, where he made over 200 appearances, and returned to boyhood club Portsmouth, where he began his professional career after coming through the Pompey academy.

The Gosport-born former Scotland international made 39 appearances and scored five goals in the Championship last season as John Mousinho’s side managed to steer themselves clear of the bottom three and the relegation places following their promotion to the second-tier.

Ritchie’s experience was vital to a young Portsmouth squad and attack, but the former AFC Bournemouth man also showed that he still has the technical qualities to more than contribute in the Championship.

It would therefore make sense if you follow that logic that, despite being a 35-year-old, Ritchie would be one of the better wingers in League One, capable of deciding and managing games at a lower level with his experience and technical ability. Earning an estimated £15k-a-week, according to Capology estimates, he's also not going to break the bank given what others with his experience might be demanding at this stage of their career.

It has been reported that Bolton’s League One rivals Reading are interested in Ritchie, and the Whites must surely be considering a move for the veteran winger.

Ritchie would fit the style and help Bolton’s squad

Bolton’s recruitment so far this summer has left many supporters very excited, with some exciting forwards having been brought in, such as Amario Cozier-Duberry, Thierry Gale and Mason Burstow.

That trio have all started the season well, and they do all share a youthful exuberance and confidence that would be ideally balanced against an experienced head in the attack.

In fact, the entire side could do with a bit of extra intelligence and nous with it being one of the younger and more dynamic squads in League One, but Ritchie also provides depth in a specific position.

Schumacher is deploying a 4-2-3-1 system with wingers on the flanks playing on the opposite side to their strongest foot; with right-footed Gale on the left and left-footed Cozier-Duberry on the right.

The right-footed Carlos Mendes Gomes, who started ahead of Gale on the opening day of the campaign, is seemingly the depth for the left-wing position, but right-wing is a sticking point. The left-footed right-winger, which Ritchie would be, is not something Wanderers have much depth for.

Even with the signing of Ibrahim Cissoko on loan from Toulouse, Bolton will still be searching for that profile of player, with the former Plymouth Argyle and Sheffield Wednesday loanee still again more suited to the left-hand side on his right foot.

Szabolcs Schon would have expected to be that player for the right but, as Schumacher has stated, he is lacking the quality to make his way into the squad, having missed out on the matchday 18 in each of the opening couple of games.

With Schon having now been linked with a move to Swedish Allsvenskan side AIK, and Schumacher having already previously stated another winger is wanted, a move for Ritchie and for experience would seemingly be ideal for the Whites.