Bolton Wanderers snap up big striker Kion Etete on loan from Cardiff City
WANDERERS have landed Cardiff City’s giant striker Kion Etete on loan for the rest of the season.
The 6ft 6ins front man has been added to the squad less than 24 hours after the arrival of new head coach Steven Schumacher, picking Bolton ahead of other options in the Championship and League One.
Etete has missed virtually the whole season so far in the Championship, making just one appearance for Cardiff in the FA Cup at Sheffield United.
But the 23-year-old, signed for £500,000 from Tottenham in August 2022, has recently returned to full fitness and played a handful of games for the club’s Under-21s team.
Wanderers have been keen to add some physicality to their forward options for several weeks and a deal for Etete was being work on before Schumacher replaced Ian Evatt this week. Indeed, he had also been on Bolton’s shortlist in previous seasons but had never been able to complete a move.
The Derby-born forward has spent time out on loan with Cheltenham and Northampton and made 63 first team appearances for Cardiff over the last three years, scoring nine times in all competitions.
Steven Schumacher admits his new addition may need some time to get up to full speed.
He said: “Kion is a player we’ve talked about, who the club has tracked for a number of years, given his pedigree and attributes, and someone I have also been an admirer of during his time in the Championship and on loan in the EFL.
“What’s really important, though, is that we don’t expect too much too soon of him. He’s had his injury issues this season and it’s important we don’t rush him but make sure he’s ready to do what we want him to when the time is right.
“That means he won’t be ready to hit the ground running immediately with us but he is getting close to full fitness and with potentially more than three months left of the season we have time to build him up further and get him fully integrated into our plans.
“His track record shows that he will make a big contribution when he’s ready to play and he will definitely give us another option to the way we are able to attack teams in what could be a pivotal phase during the final third of the campaign.”
