Bolton Wanderers should turn to ex-West Brom player as perfect Randell Williams competition: View | OneFootball

The 31-year-old is a free agent now after leaving the Baggies, and could be the perfect option for Ian Evatt this summer.

Bolton Wanderers suffered play-off final heartbreak in May and will require more experience in an attempt to climb back up into the Championship for the first time since 2019.

Wanderers will start the new season with a problem, as Randell Williams looks set to miss the opening fixtures due to an injury he picked up the night before Oxford United beat Ian Evatt's side at Wembley Stadium.

According to The Bolton News, the wing-back was ruled out for four months following a warm-up before the final, with Williams tearing a muscle in his foot.

With the 27-year-old's injury woes, Bolton should turn to a Championship stalwart in an attempt to add cover and gain more experience in a team that seemed to lack some towards the back end of last season as they were beaten to second place by Derby County.

Adam Reach, 31, is now a free agent following the expiration of his contract at West Bromwich Albion, and with his adaptability, he could be a shrewd signing for the Trotters.

Drop down in division would make sense for Adam Reach

Reach struggled for game time at West Brom last season, starting just five league fixtures, and coming off the bench in 12. He totalled only 629 minutes, an average of just 37 minutes per appearance, a far cry from his heyday as a consistent Championship starter.

The 31-year-old suffered a thigh injury in pre-season and required surgery to fix the issue, leaving him out of the squad until December 2023, when he was slowly reintroduced to the bench.

But, with Conor Townsend locking down the left-back position, and ventures further forward down the wing not producing the results that the Baggies required of Reach, he has been let go after three years at the Hawthorns.

However, with Bolton's League One status, they could be the perfect club for the wing-back to get his career moving again. He can be guaranteed games, particularly at the start of the season with Williams' injury, and if he performs, he could make that position his own.

Indeed, dropping down a division may be a smart move from Reach – though he would surely have to take a pay cut to be an affordable option for Wanderers this summer.

Strikers will benefit from Reach's crossing ability

Aaron Collins and Dion Charles will welcome the former Sheffield Wednesday man to the Toughsheet Community Stadium if the two parties work out a deal, with both forwards likely to become great profiteers from Reach's ability to find his teammates with crosses.

He has 53 assists to his name in all competitions throughout his career so far, picking up 11 in one season in 2017/18 for Wednesday.

Dropping down a division could reignite the attacking spark that Reach once had, and with more minutes in a positive, exciting team he could play a key part if he moves to Greater Manchester.

Reach's pass accuracy was phenomenal in the games he did play last season, picking out his teammates 83.8% of the time. He was also useful in a defensive capacity, winning 64.3% of his tackles, as well as coming out on top in over half of his duels, both aerially and one-on-one.

With his adaptability of being able to filter down the left-hand-side, as well as being able to fill in as a central midfielder on the odd occasion, Reach could be a real coup for Evatt, who will need more from his players to get over the disappointment of the spring.