Bolton Wanderers may still beat Man Utd in free agent race despite new arrival: View | OneFootball

Bolton may have already brought in a goalkeeper this summer but there is still a good chance they beat Manchester United to another.

Last week, Bolton Wanderers confirmed the signing of goalkeeper Luke Southwood on a free transfer, following his free transfer from Cheltenham Town.

Around the same time, rumours began to emerge that Manchester United had rivalled Wanderers for the signing of free agent Louie Moulden, who has just left Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Many may put two and two together to suggest that the Trotters have instead opted to sign Southwood with the former Reading goalkeeper brought in to provide competition for Nathan Baxter.

However, for a couple of reasons, that may not be the case and the Whites could, and probably should, still be in the hunt for Moulden, or at least another goalkeeper.

As many a Cheltenham Town supporter will tell you, Luke Southwood was a shining light in their relegation from League One last season and many would argue that he was and is among the best goalkeepers in the whole of the third-tier.

It would therefore be extremely surprising, or an enormous coup, for Bolton, a team in that league, to have acquired him as their second-choice goalkeeper behind Nathan Baxter.

Baxter was outstanding for the Whites last season and there was even a hint in the official confirmation of his signing that he was brought in because Baxter’s severe wrist injury, which kept him sidelined for the better part of the second-half of the season, was a reason behind having stronger cover.

However, as mentioned, Southwood joining seems bizarre given Bolton have a strong number one, and it would therefore now not necessarily be remotely surprising to see Baxter, formerly of Chelsea, depart after just one season at the Toughsheet Community Stadium.

If that was to be the case, then it would still appear likely that Wanderers would want to bring in another goalkeeper and that goalkeeper could well still be the aforementioned Louie Moulden.

The Bolton-born brother of Bolton kit man Ted Moulden, who played in the academy for the club, Moulden was heavily linked by Alan Nixon last month and is available as a free agent following his departure from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Moulden spent the second-half of last season on loan at Northampton Town, ironically making his EFL debut against the Trotters in a 1-1 draw back in February, and generally impressed throughout his stint with the Cobblers.

Upgrading upon Coleman

What makes sense from a squad building and squad hierarchy perspective would be the arrival of Southwood as well as a genuine number two to provide stiffer competition and better quality back-up than Joel Coleman.

Coleman was third-choice at Ipswich Town when they gained automatic promotion to the Championship in 2023, so when Bolton signed him as their out-and-out back-up to Baxter, it should have been immediately concerning that may not be the standard required and, whilst he improved in the 13 matches that he played in League One last season, there are matches and moments that many look back on as where the top two got away from Bolton in retrospect.

Moulden, still inexperienced at EFL level, would fill a gap whereby the terrible phrase of ‘not bad but not too good’ would fit. His career thus far has consisted of several non-league loans, as well as that time at Northampton, following a controversial move from Liverpool to Manchester City and then his transfer to Wolves.

He is an emerging talent that would appear ideal to be a team gunning for promotion’s number two, so with the now seemingly strong possibility, or at least the general hunch, that Southwood has been signed to replace Baxter, his arrival remains a sensible one and that could well mean Wanderers see off competition from Manchester United; which would also be a move that once again seemingly stunts his development akin to that of his time with Liverpool and City.