Player should avoid romantic Oxford United transfer and choose Bolton Wanderers | OneFootball

Ryan Ledson has been released by Preston North End and should opt for the practical move for Bolton Wanderers rather than a romantic return to Oxford.

Following his release from Preston North End, Ryan Ledson has been linked with several clubs, with Oxford United and Bolton Wanderers among them, but the Everton academy graduate should avoid the lure of a romantic return to former club Oxford with a move to the Trotters more suitable.

According to The Daily Record, both the U’s and Wanderers are interested in signing the 27-year-old Liverpudlian alongside Huddersfield Town and Plymouth Argyle.

The Pilgrims have just been relegated to the third-tier, whilst both Bolton and Huddersfield endured a fairly miserable second-half of the campaign as they collapsed away from the top six and the play-off places in League One.

Oxford would not only represent a return to a team where he excelled at the start of his career but also a chance to remain in the Championship, but a move to Bolton would surely be more preferable for a variety of reasons.

The romance of Oxford

Ledson came through the academy at Everton but only managed one first-team appearance for the Toffees, with a loan spell in League Two with Cambridge United being followed by a permanent move to Oxford in the summer of 2016.

Ledson was shortlisted for the League One Young Player of the Year award in the 2016/17 campaign but lost out to Exeter City’s Ollie Watkins and was a key man for the U’s as they reached the final of the EFL Trophy.

After another impressive season with Oxford in the 2017/18 campaign, he earned a move to Deepdale for an undisclosed fee in May 2018, having handed in a transfer request in January of that year.

Whilst a return may be romantic and presents an opportunity to remain in the second-tier, Ledson would likely find his opportunities for first-team football limited with the likes of the excellent Cameron Brannagan as well as the experienced Wales international Will Vaulks in the squad.

Having not been a key regular for Preston in the last couple of seasons and now deemed surplus to requirements at Deepdale, getting back to playing as much and as often as possible is likely to be a major factor in his decision.

Ledson will likely have fond memories of playing at the Kassam Stadium and that could well be a draw to go back to Oxfordshire, but that lack of playing time up against the other options reportedly on offer to him would make it seem a potentially short-sighted move.

The practicalities of Bolton

In contrast to those impressive midfield options at Oxford, Bolton are instead keen on bolstering a midfield that has often been fairly weak and easy to play against, despite the individual quality of Vaulks’ international teammate Josh Sheehan as well as Aaron Morley and club captain George Thomason.

A lack of bite has been missing for Bolton and Ledson would provide that, almost assured of becoming a key man in the middle of the park for a Trotters side desperate to sustain an automatic promotion challenge next season.

As well as the footballing side of things, there are a few other practical elements for the 27-year-old to consider, with the potential of a local move from Preston to Bolton perhaps being more preferable with a young family with a two-year-old son and a daughter born earlier this year.

Steven Schumacher is desperate for some grit and experience in his Wanderers midfield as he seeks another League One promotion and Ledson should see a move to Bolton as the best place to reignite his career, having managed just 14 starts in the Championship for Preston last season.

Of course, every club linked with Ledson will be confident that "their play" can land the transfer. However, in Bolton's case, they may feel theirs is the strongest.