Deal done: Bolton Wanderers' first summer signings of the last 20 years

THE transfer window is open – but Wanderers’ relatively quiet start to their summer recruitment has put some supporters on edge.

Bolton’s own pre-season timings are later than normal because of their involvement in the play-offs, and with the Euros in full-flow national media attention has been taken away from the gossip columns and is fixed on Germany for the time being.

At time of writing there have been 41 confirmed deals done across League One, with Bolton one of 16 different teams to have announced at least one new arrival. Eight teams have not yet signed a player at all.

Rotherham United have been busiest, adding eight new players to their squad after relegation from the Championship and the addition of Steve Evans as their new manager.

Defender Chris Forino became Bolton’s first new face in the squad, signing a three-year deal from Wycombe. Whether the 24-year-old is the start of a busy couple of months remains to be seen – but we have looked back at the first signing in each of the last 20 summers to see whether they provided a pointer to success or failure for Wanderers.

2004 – Sam Allardyce had made no secret of his wish to spend money to take Bolton to the next level and had deals with defender David Unsworth, Croatian striker Dado Prso and midfielder Muzzy Izzet ready to go, according to reports. But what proved to be a memorable transfer window was kicked off with the less-than-glamorous addition of ex-Sunderland striker Michael Bridges, who failed to make a single first team appearance.

El-Hadji Diouf was a club record signing from Liverpool in 2005 (Image: PA)

2005 – Some big names were linked with Wanderers, including France international midfielder Olivier Dacourt, countryman Laurent Robert and Portuguese winger Luis Figo but the first proper deal of the summer was a face we knew well, El-Hadji Diouf, who became the most expensive deal in the club’s history at the time, costing £4m from Liverpool.

2006 – Proved to be a messy summer of transfers for Allardyce and none more so than his first capture, that of Israel international Idan Tal. The deal ended up the subject of a major inquiry, heaping pressure and unwanted headlines on the Bolton boss, and the player made little impact in his 20 appearances and single season with the Whites.

2007 – Wanderers were in disarray after Allardyce’s departure, and the subsequent dismantling of his backroom, but his successor Sammy Lee inherited a few deals that had already been agreed by the club including injured Swiss midfielder Blerim Dzemaili, Aston Villa full-back Jlloyd Samuel, Sunderland midfielder Gavin McCann and the now-infamous Bordeaux left-back, Gerald Cid.

2008 – Gary Megson spent big this summer in an effort to avoid the previous season’s tussle with relegation and Birmingham City midfielder Fabrice Muamba was the first signing officially announced at £5m, followed swiftly by another club record, the £8.2m Sweden international, Johan Elmander.

Striker Elmander’s price was pushed towards the £10m mark when you consider it also had Norway international Daniel Braaten move to Toulouse in the opposite direction.

Sean Davis 'saved' Gary Megson some money in the summer of 2009 (Image: PA)

2009 – Megson was cock-a-hoop to have signed Portsmouth midfielder Sean Davis on a free transfer, six months after having a £3.5m bid turned down for him. The plan was to build a team around the former England Under-21 playmaker but a serious knee injury early in his Bolton career meant we never got to see the best of him.

2010 – Owen Coyle reckoned he had got the best Bosman deal on the market when he announced his first summer signing, Bulgaria international Martin Petrov, who had been released by Manchester City. His old Burnley ward, Robbie Blake, was also announced in the same breath.

2011 – Coyle grabbed another freebie he felt was a steal when Darren Pratley signed from Swansea City – and while the Londoner had his critics, he did go on to play more than 200 games for the club and captain the team.

The Bolton boss was also trying to rustle up money to sign Rodrigo Moreno from Benfica and bring Spanish midfielder Thiago Alcantara in from Barcelona.

2012 – Relegated from the Premier League, Wanderers gambled on retaining a big wage bill, adding some Championship specialists on good contracts.

The first was Ireland midfielder Keith Andrews, who had been offered a new deal with West Brom and the chance to sign for Huddersfield Town.

Coyle also wanted Colombian midfielder Carlos Sanchez but was struggling to get the deal over the line.

Marc Tierney was the first senior signing for Dougie Freedman in 2013 (Image: PA)

2013 – Dougie Freedman had picked up the managerial baton the previous year and was tasked with reducing the club’s massive wage bill by bringing in younger players.

Sheffield Wednesday’s Hayden White and Millwall striker Connor Wilkinson were the first two players officially through the door, with full-back Marc Tierney the first senior signing that summer.

2014 – Freedman lined up another round of free transfers at the start of the 2014/15 season, making Leicester City midfielder Neil Danns his first permanent signing, following a successful loan.

Millwall’s Liam Feeney and Liam Trotter – who had both also done well on loan the season before – also followed the same day.

Few Bolton fans will remember the fourth addition, however, with Southampton’s Andy Robinson staying only a couple of months at the club before returning to the South Coast citing homesickness as his reason for leaving.

2015 – Neil Lennon’s first summer window started with two big statements – Ben Amos was signed on a free transfer from Manchester United, having impressed on loan the season before, and would be the club’s new number one after talks with Adam Bogdan broke down.

Wanderers had expected to sign Rotherham United’s Craig Morgan and were also linked with Honduran midfielder Wilson Palacios but fans were left surprised when Lennon announced former Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday striker Gary Madine had been offered a two-year deal.

Phil Parkinson's first signing in the summer of 2016 was winger Chris Taylor (Image: Camerasport)

2016 – Phil Parkinson had been linked with a raft of players from his former club Bradford City before making ex-Oldham and Blackburn winger Chris Taylor his first signing.

Taylor certainly did not prove Parkinson’s most successful signing that summer, playing 23 games but falling out with supporters after allegedly making a gesture towards them at a game in Rochdale.

2017 – Promotion to the Championship brought a stream of early transfers for Wanderers, with full-back Mark Little officially the first transfer confirmed but Andy Taylor, Will Buckley and fans’ favourite Adam Le Fondre all starting their contract on the same day, July 1.

2018 – After the Great Escape, Parkinson tried to add something different to his squad and former Blackburn Rovers midfielder Jason Lowe was the first signing through the door.

Lowe would later captain Wanderers in the tougher times ahead – and would be unveiled alongside striker Clayton Donaldson and Walsall playmaker Erhun Oztumer later the same day.

2019 – Bolton were in chaos at the start of 2019/20 and so their first new permanent signing was only ratified by the EFL on the morning of their first game of the season at Wycombe.

Ex-Manchester United midfielder James Weir was plunged straight into a debut alongside loanee Josh Earl and a raft of young players, some of whom had been driven to Adams Park that morning.

Eoin Doyle was Bolton's first signing in the busy summer of 2020 (Image: Camerasport)

2020 – The Ian Evatt era began in lockdown and would see a huge squad rebuild in League Two.

Proven goal-scorer Eoin Doyle was officially the first signing of the summer, coming in from Swindon Town, although Scottish midfielder Ali Crawford had re-signed from the previous season.

2021 – Promoted from League Two at the first attempt, Evatt sealed a permanent deal for Dapo Afolayan from West Ham as his first signing of that summer. Three years later the striker is looking forward to playing in the Bundesliga with St Pauli.

2022 – Australian defender Jack Iredale joined from Cambridge United as the first senior signing of the summer, although the newly-launched B Team would also announce a cluster of arrivals including Nelson Khumbeni and Connor Carty.

2023 – Last summer Dan Nlundulu’s permanent move from Southampton was rubber-stamped on May 24 but the first new name added to the squad was that of ex-Chelsea keeper Nathan Baxter, who signed on June 19.