Football League World
·17 July 2024
Football League World
·17 July 2024
All the news as the Trotters look to get busy in the transfer market this summer
It’s been all systems go at the Toughsheet Community Stadium lately, as Ian Evatt prepares his Bolton Wanderers side for the impending League One campaign.
The Trotters will have put last season’s play-off heartache behind them, as their pre-season campaign got underway against West Bromwich Albion last weekend.
Kyle Dempsey and Aaron Collins were on the scoresheet as Wanderers overcame the Baggies 2-1 in the warm-up match, while new signing Klaidi Lolos got some minutes under the belt for his new side.
And with less than a month to go before the 24/25 season gets underway, there looks to be plenty more transfer action happening in the north west in the weeks to come, and here we take a look at the latest updates.
Wanderers are said to be one of a number of Football League sides chasing a move for former Blackpool loanee Karamoko Dembele.
That’s according to Darren Witcoop, who reported that Bolton face competition from Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County and Portsmouth for the playmaker’s signature this summer.
The Championship trio are all said to have submitted bids for the 21-year-old, who featured in 39 games for the Tangerines during the 23/24 campaign.
Having scored eight goals himself and laid on another 13 for his teammates during his time at Bloomfield Road, the London-born star is hot-property this summer, with current side Brest looking to see up.
The ex-Celtic forward reportedly still has two years left on his deal with the Ligue 1 side, having made the move from Glasgow in the summer of 2022.
Earlier this week it emerged that Luton Town striker John McAtee is a target for Bolton Wanderers, as Evatt looks to add to his options in the final third for the following campaign.
The 24-year-old signed for the Hatters from Grimsby in 2022, but is yet to feature for the Bedfordshire club, having spent the last two seasons out on loan from the Kenilworth Road side.
Last season saw the frontman join Barnsley for a season in League One, where he plundered 12 goals in 40 league appearances for the Tykes, as the Yorkshire side missed out in the play-off semi-finals.
That loss came at the hands of Bolton, and the Trotters must have liked what they saw from the former Scunthorpe United man, who also found the back of the net when the two sides met during the regular season in a 2-2 draw at Oakwell.
While Evatt will be rapidly trying to plug gaps in Bolton’s squad, there is also the possibility of players leaving, and that could well be the case for teenage talent Wesley Frimpong.
The 19-year-old is said to have gained interest from Austrian side LASK Linz this summer, as well as a longstanding admiration from Bundesliga Champions Bayer Leverkusen.
That’s according to journalist Ben Jacobs, who claims that the Austrian side are in advanced talks to sign the player - who is the brother of Leverkusen’s Jeremie - while the German outfit's interest won't amount to anything at this moment in time.
Frimpong is a product of the Wanderers academy, although his contract with the club expired at the end of last month, and despite being offered a new deal, he looks set to leave the club for a move to Europe this summer.