Injury returns and summer recruits bode well for Bolton title bid
Published:Bolton’s relegation from the Premier League took many by surprise last season, but the return to fitness of several key squad members can see them justify 9/4 odds for promotion this term.
In what was an incredibly frustrating 2011/2012 campaign, serious injuries to Lee Chung-Yong, Tyrone Mears, Marcos Alonso and Stuart Holden saw their game time extremely limited.
Star player Gary Cahill was sold in January too, and with boss Owen Coyle failing to significantly invest the money his sale generated from Chelsea, relegation became somewhat of an inevitability.
That said, the Trotters now look primed to launch a bid for an immediate return to the top flight, and will see support from punters to actually win the Championship as 7/1 second favourites.
Keith Andrews, a player of vast Premier League experience, has signed after a Euro 2012 campaign that saw him emerge as one of Ireland’s better performers.
He will bring added creativity to a midfield which already includes the bite of the returning Muamba and Holden, who have both drawn mass acclaim as Premier League players in recent times.
Chung-Yong also counts a Premier League Player of the Month accolade as a past achievement, whilst his fellow winger Chris Eagles has been promoted from this division as part of a Coyle squad before.
Also encouraging for Bolton fans is the impending signing of Matt Mills, who is expected to join on a season-long loan deal from Leicester this week.
Mills cost an astonishing £5m when joining the Foxes from Reading last term, and the former Royals captain is more than capable at Championship level, as proven by his skippering of the recently-promoted side to the play-off final two years ago.
In England under-21 international Marvin Sordell, and one-cap England striker Kevin Davies too, Bolton have a blend of youth and experience up front that will be the envy of many a Championship club.
All things considered, an instant return to the Premier League looks a very plausible scenario at 9/4.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
