Bolton’s severe financial troubles in the last few years have forced them to stay tight in the transfer market this summer. This is despite manager Dougie Freedman being aware that the squad needs strengthening in some vital areas of the pitch. The manager has accepted that Bolton do not have a top class centre forward to lead the line. This could be a major problem for them, as they aim for promotion even via the play-off places. As the new season approaches, Bolton head to Watford for the first game of the season.

Freedman says that it would be ideal to have a top-class striker in the team before the start of the match. However, since he is aware of the financial difficulties at the club, he says that it may not be easy. Bringing in players through the loan market is a viable solution and it has been successful for several Championship and lower league clubs in the past. Freedman accepts that Bolton may have to adopt a similar approach for the coming campaign. However, signing players on loan will also not be easy since there will be a lot of competition.

Pre-season has been extremely positive for the club, as they have so far only one defeat and it came in the final match against Vitesse Arnhem.

“When the money is not what you’d like it to be, you cannot dictate in the market. You can’t just wake up and say I will spend X amount on a player and go and get him. You have to look at loans or transfers when a club gets someone else in and it frees up players – that’s exactly where we are right now. We are only going to get to that position of bringing players in if the market starts moving in our favour,” said Freedman.