SEASON SPOTLIGHT: We rate the five loan players signed by Bolton Wanderers

THE loan market has produced some real success stories for Wanderers in Ian Evatt’s four years in charge, but this year’s evidence has hardly been compelling.

Of the five players brought in on temporary deals, only Paris Maghoma has really settled in the first team spotlight, with the others reduced mainly to the supporting cast.

We have cast our eye over the five players brought in on loan to kick-off our detailed assessment of the Bolton squad this season.

Paris Maghoma made a real impression at Bolton - but sadly looks destined to move elsewhere in the summer (Image: Camerasport)

PARIS MAGHOMA

Though it was a painful way to see him bow out at Wembley, there is little doubt that Maghoma proved in a season with Bolton that he is destined to play at a higher level.

Knowing how influential the Brentford loanee had become in his midfield, Ian Evatt opted to keep him on the pitch in the play-off final for 49 minutes despite an ankle injury curtailing his effectiveness on the day.

Maghoma had brought an excitement and unpredictability to the Wanderers team, able to keep defenders second guessing as he shifted off either foot to make room for a pass or a shot. In that respect, he brought back similar vibes to Dapo Afolayan, formerly of this parish, and his popularity with the Bolton supporters was just as high.

Never frightened to try his luck at goal, only Dion Charles (94) had more shots on goal than Maghoma (71) in the league. He was also the only Wanderers player to figure in the division’s top 20 for dribbling the ball, averaging 2.3 per game.

Evatt had wanted Maghoma to improve his game out of possession and had some success on that front, although the numbers suggest he is less inclined to engage opposition players than either George Thomason or Josh Sheehan.

A Young Player of the Year award, eight league goals and five assists proved a decent return considering some of the very early injury issues he experienced with the Whites but the chances of him coming back out on loan in League One next season look remote.

Verdict: Another one to add to the loanees we have fallen in love with and, like Trafford and Bradley before, there was no fairytale ending. Sack the scriptwriter! 7.5/10

Zac Ashworth fared quite well in a cluster of games at the turn of the year but dropped out of the reckoning (Image: Camerasport)

ZAC ASHWORTH

Showed himself to be a tidy and technical player when he got the opportunity but never really got the stage to prove himself to be an obvious candidate for a permanent move to Bolton this summer.

Signed on loan from West Brom to provide another option to Randell Williams at left wing-back, a series of minor injuries made for a frustrating initiation Before January 10 he had been in the starting line up on just three occasions, all in the cup competitions, which was shame given his debut against Barrow was marked with a well-taken set piece goal.

A better run was to follow a strong showing against Accrington Stanley in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy. He started eight of the next 12 games in league and cup, scoring another well-taken goal at Carlisle.

Ashworth missed the decisive penalty against Blackpool in the quarter-final of the Trophy on February 24, and one wonders whether that knock to confidence contributed to his gradual disappearance in the first team plans thereafter.

Wanderers have the option to sign the 21-year-old this summer and it would be interesting to see what he could do with more first team exposure. But with so many questions being posed about the lack of experience in Evatt’s squad, you would have to wonder if his best chance has passed?

Verdict: There is a good player there, without question, but is it the type that Bolton need if they are rolling up their sleeves next season to get out of an improving division? 5.5/10

Nat Ogbeta made a fast start with Bolton but his season tailed off somewhat (Image: Camerasport)

NAT OGBETA

After scoring on debut against Carlisle and leading the celebrations with supporters after the final whistle, Wanderers looked like they had signed a livewire in Ogbeta.

With no realistic chance of a reprieve at his parent club Swansa City and his contract running out in the summer, this was a trial of sorts for the pacy wing-back.

He put everything into it early on, practically dragging himself off the pitch in his early appearances and producing a handful of assists which hinted at his quality.

By March, and with Randell Williams recovering from injury, he had claimed the left flank for his own. There were some genuinely positive signs going forward, even if he failed to completely rid himself of the question marks hanging over his defensive work.

A costly close-range miss in the home draw with Shrewsbury will unfortunately be an enduring image of his stay, as will the memory of Wembley, where Ogbeta replaced Randell Williams on the eve of the game because of injury.

His performance in the final – like so many others – was not the note on which he wanted to bow out this season.

Verdict: When the sun was shining he looked the part but Ogbeta struggled to prove he was a better option than Williams on the left against the better teams in this division. 5.5/10

Caleb Taylor picked up an ankle injury at Cambridge, which curtailed his impact at Bolton (Image: Camerasport)

CALEB TAYLOR

The chisel jawed West Brom youngster had plenty of other offers in the January window, and you wonder whether he now wishes he had taken a different path.

Ricardo Santos’s injury in February had forced Bolton to find an imposing centre-back for games against aerially dominant opposition like Barnsley, Northampton and Wycombe, and though there were some signs of ring-rust, he coped pretty well on his introduction to the side.

After starting the rescheduled game against Cambridge he was taken off just before half time with an ankle injury, leaving him sidelined for weeks. He did return, putting in another encouraging performance against Port Vale, but never got the traction needed to make a true judgement.

Taylor looked strong in the air and comfortable in possession but you sense we will only see the best of him in the years to come, with a career beckoning in the Championship and beyond.

Verdict: Struck down by injury just as he was starting to settle. Rated highly at West Brom and needs to push on now because all the tools are there. 5/10

Calvin Ramsay in a rare Bolton outing against Northampton Town (Image: Camerasport)

CALVIN RAMSAY

There was a buzz around Bolton when they brought in another right wing-back from Liverpool, one who had originally been brought in by the Reds on big money from Aberdeen, who was in the conversation for Scotland’s national team, and who had been ahead of Conor Bradley in the Anfield first team queue.

Ramsay made a reasonable start after being plunged into a debut against Blackpool in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy, following it up with another half-decent hour against Barnsley.

He went backwards from there, however, and played only a few solitary minutes as a substitute from there on in. Josh Dacres-Cogley was not so much leaned upon, as crushed under the weight in the final few weeks as the only viable right wing-back.

Injuries had wrecked his time at Preston North End in the first half of the season but he seldom made the despatches when Evatt listed players who had picked up knocks in the final couple of months, making him somewhat of a forgotten man.

Recruitment-wise, one of Bolton’s biggest mis-steps in recent memory.

Verdict: It has been a wretched 18 months for the Scottish defender and his time at Bolton wasn’t the rebirth he’d hoped for… Far from it, in fact. 2/10