Bolton Wanderers must remember Marcus Maddison amid Ravel Morrison talk: View | OneFootball

Despite flying high at the top end of League One, Bolton Wanderers are potentially looking to improve their squad.

The Trotters have been excellent once again this season, living up to promotion expectations by competing for a place in the automatic spots.

Bolton played one of their games in hand on Tuesday night, as they claimed all three points against Cambridge United, a result that puts them right in the mix for second spot.

But before that game, it came to light that Bolton could well be looking at improving their squad more, despite the transfer window closing a few weeks ago.

According to TEAMtalk, Bolton Wanderers are among the sides interested in free agent Ravel Morrison.

The report states that, in addition to the Trotters being interested, Sheffield Wednesday and Peterborough United are also keen on the midfielder.

The 31-year-old is a free agent after leaving MLS side DC United at the start of this year after joining the club in the summer of 2022, following the arrival of former Derby County manager Wayne Rooney.

The report states that the midfielder is keen to get back to playing football and is the subject of interest from these three sides.

It is said that Bolton and Peterborough are looking at the free agent market to bolster their options for the final part of the campaign.

While this may excite Bolton fans, the club must remember former player Marcus Maddison when it comes to talking about Morrison.

It was February 1st, 2021, when Bolton signed midfielder Marcus Maddison on loan for the remainder of that campaign.

The Trotters signed the talented midfielder to help boost their chances of promotion, with them at the time playing in England’s fourth division.

The 30-year-old started playing at Newcastle United before moving to Scotland and then back to England to play for Gateshead, where he earned his move to Peterborough.

The midfielder impressed with Posh but left the club to join Charlton Athletic on a free transfer in 2020, but six months later he joined Bolton.

So, when the Trotters signed Maddison, big things were expected of the player, as he was seen as a big addition to League Two.

However, Maddison failed to impress with the Lancashire side, appearing in just 10 games, with only four coming as a starter, and he failed to score or record an assist. It seemed there were concerns off the pitch that were affecting him, and it may be that is why his loan spell at Bolton was a disaster.

Therefore, Bolton should be very careful when it comes to signing Morrison, as he could be labelled very similar to that of Maddison.

Bolton are a side that do have a wealth of options in the attacking third, with them busy once again in the summer with new players joining the club and no one leaving.

However, if this report is true, it seems manager Ian Evatt is keen to further bolster his squad, with Morrison being a free agent being a key factor in this interest.

It may look like a decent pick-up for the club were it to happen, but there is a lot of risk to this deal, and it may be wise for the club to stay clear.

In the MLS last season, Morrison showed at times what he can offer a side, but his overall numbers were not something that would get fans jumping out of their seats.

The midfielder averaged 0.1 goals per game last season, which is rather poor, as he played 14 games and scored just two goals. Given his lack of goals, it is no surprise to see that Morrison’s goal frequency was 485 minutes, as per SofaScore.com.

Furthermore, his accuracy in front of goal leaves a lot to desire, as he averaged 1.1 shots per game, but only 0.4 were on target, which may explain his lack of goals for DC United.

Morrison was also unable to be the creative spark that many fans know he can be, as he created no big chances, which resulted in him collecting no assists, despite averaging 0.4 key passes.

The 31-year-old does get involved in games, as his 41.6 touches show, and the midfielder is tidy with the ball at his feet, as he had a pass accuracy of 88% per game last season. But his attacking threat may not be at the standard Bolton wants or needs.

As well as his numbers not being outstanding, Morrison has been well known to have some attitude problems during his career, and this is where Bolton need to learn from the Maddison signing.

Bringing in Morrison may bolster their options, but his arrival could potentially disrupt what the club already has, so Evatt and Bolton don’t need to create a problem by adding in a player who may not even get into their starting XI.

So, while they may think they need another option in that area of the pitch, Bolton should stay clear of Morrison, as keeping the squad happy and tight is more important than another body.