BWFC 2023 Summer Transfer Targets: Centre-Back
At this moment in time centre-back is arguably the position that is Wanderers’ most ‘set’ with George Johnston, Ricardo Santos, Gethin Jones and Eoin Toal all performing to high standards this season. The defensive unit was one of the best in League One last season, conceding just 36 goals in the regular season (second only to Ipswich’s 35 goals conceded), so barring any player sales, there shouldn’t be too much work to be done over the next 10 weeks.
However, as Evatt has alluded to previously with regards to recruitment ‘if you’re not moving forwards you’re going backwards’. Bolton Wanderers are now a forward thinking and proactive football club, therefore plans will already be in place to find the next Ricardo Santos, the next George Johnston and the next Eoin Toal because unfortunately those guys won’t be here forever.
With this in my mind, I’ve highlighted a few names who we may be linked to over the coming weeks.
Jacob Bedeau
Team: Morecambe
Age: 23 (24/12/1999)
As a youngster Bedeau spent time in the academies of Leyton Orient and Bury before joining Aston Villa for £900k as a 17 year old. He spent two years there without breaking into the first team and ended up joining Scunthorpe United on a free transfer in January 2019. Bedeau got some solid experience under his belt at Glanford Park featuring 53 times over two seasons, impressing enough to be signed by Burnley in summer 2021. However just as at Villa, he failed to make an impression at Burnley, joining Morecambe on a free transfer last summer after impressing there on loan in the 21/22 season.
Bedeau was a mainstay of the Morecambe defence this season starting 37 league games. He possesses good pace and good ball playing ability. Needs a bit of coaching up but still young enough to be considered a good prospect. Has decent EFL experience with 113 L1/L2 appearances in his career so far. Is naturally left-footed and played the majority of games this season on the left of a back three for Morecambe.
With just a year left on his deal and Morecambe not in best financial shape, Bedeau could be had for an initial outlay of circa £50k. Evatt and his coaching staff have a good recent track record of coaching up defenders — with Johnston, Santos, Toal and Aimson all visibly improving in their time at Wanderers. I’d trust them to do the same with Bedeau.
Warren O’Hora
Team: MK Dons
Age: 24 (19/04/1999)
MK Dons will be playing in League Two next season, but one player from the Buckinghamshire side who deserves to be plying his trade at a higher level is Warren O’Hora.
O’Hora has been a consistently high performer for MK Dons over the past three seasons since joining on loan from Brighton in August 2020 (the move being made permanent in January 2021). The club’s current vice-captain, he’s made 126 first team appearances during that time, with the majority of those appearances coming at RCB or CB, however he can fill in competently at LCB. He brings composure in defence and on the ball, good timing in the tackle and bravery in the air. The only concern would be whether he has the required athleticism to play in Wanderers’ high line, but he is by no means slow.
O’Hora signed a new deal with MK Dons last summer so is contracted to the club until at least 2024 (they don’t disclose player contract lengths publicly so no way to know when his current deal expires), therefore a fee would be required. It’s hard to see MK Dons parting with him cheaply, but to snag a proven L1 performer who’s only just turned 24 would be a shrewd bit of business.
Lewis Gibson
Team: Everton
Age: 22 (19/07/2000)
Hailing from Durham, Gibson spent the majority of his youth in Newcastle United’s academy before joining Everton’s academy in July 2017 in a deal supposedly worth up to £6m. He’s yet to make a first team appearance for the Toffees but did appear on the bench for a Premier League game in 2020. Since then he’s had loans to Fleetwood (19/20, 11 appearances), Reading (20/21, 13 apps), Sheffield Wednesday (21/22, 6 apps) and Bristol Rovers (22/23, 33 apps). He’s impressed on loan at Bristol Rovers this season, coming second in Rovers’ Player of the Year award behind 16 goal-man Aaron Collins.
Gibson combines physicality and bravery in defending with technical ability. On the ball he looks like an accomplished ball-playing midfielder with the way he can spray long diagonals to the opposite wing and whip in crosses from deep. He’s left footed and has played predominantly at LCB for Bristol Rovers this season.
Out of contract this month, it’ll be worth looking at Everton’s retained list when announced to see whether he’s done enough to earn a new deal there. If not, there will be plenty of L1 and Championship clubs interested in his signature.
Ryan Astley
Team: Everton
Age: 21 (04/10/2001)
Another Everton academy player, Astley is also out of contract this summer so could be picked up for nothing if released. Astley had his first taste of men’s football this season with a season-long loan to Accrington in which he featured 23 times in the league, before an ankle injury ended his season in February.
Not as physical or good on the ball as Gibson from what I’ve seen of them both, Astley still possesses strong 1v1 defensive ability and positioning and would surely only get better with more experience in senior football. He reminds me of George Johnston, not only in his thin, rangy build but his superb timing in the tackle and defensive instinct.
Astley is right-footed but has played and looked comfortable right across Accrington’s back three this season.
Romoney Crichlow
Team: Huddersfield Town (released)
Age: 24 (03/06/1999)
Recently released by Huddersfield — a club he was at for six years — Crichlow spent this season on loan at Bradford where he started 34 games as a left-sided centre-back.
He’s a pacey defender who excels in 1v1 matchups — his foot speed means he’s comfortable shadowing the quickest and trickiest wingers. He’s not uncomfortable with the ball at his feet but ideally needs to show a little more composure in possession if he wants to be an effective progressor of the ball.
Not yet a guaranteed starter for a top L1 side but could definitely develop into one. However at 24 he may feel he now needs regular match time, something a promotion chasing L1 side won’t be able to immediately offer him.
Udoka Godwin-Malife
Team: Forest Green Rovers
Age: 23 (09/05/2000)
A name I’ve touted in the past two summer transfer windows, Godwin-Malife is now available on a free (however training compensation would be owed to Forest Green as he’s been offered a contract by them and is under 24)
What I wrote last summer: At only 5’10/5’11 Godwin-Malife struggles aerially and in physical battles against stronger centre-forwards, but what he lacks in physicality he makes up for in technical ability. He’s supremely confident with the ball at his feet, can run at pace with the ball and is composed under pressure. Another strength is his positional versatility — primarily an outside centre-back, he is just as comfortable playing right back and could also fill in at right wing back if needed.
I could really see him in excelling in the right centre-back role for Wanderers, linking up with the RWB in those overloads on the right hand side and he has sufficient recovery pace to play our high line. However would these positives be enough to compensate for his lack of defensive dominance?
Jesse Debrah
Team: FC Halifax Town
Age: 22 (01/05/2001)
Assuming Wanderers don’t lose any of their starting centre-backs to teams higher up the football pyramid, they have a little more wiggle room to take on a developmental prospect at the position this summer and Debrah is a player who fits that brief.
Released by Millwall in the summer of 2020 without making a first team appearance for the club, Debrah signed for Dulwich Hamlet, then of the National League South, but barely played as the non-league side struggled with fulfilling fixtures due to covid restrictions and lack of gate receipts. Debrah managed to make a step back towards the football league in the summer of 2021 though, signing for Halifax and going on to make 59 appearances for the National League side over the past two seasons.
His impressive performances for Halifax have seen him linked with various EFL clubs over the past 12 months, most notably Huddersfield and Barnsley. Debrah is a powerful runner with impressive straight line speed who is also adept at making progressive runs forward from defence. Although not quite as tall as Ricardo Santos, Debrah’s imposing physical stature, athleticism and style of play is reminiscent of Wanderers’ no.5.
Debrah’s Halifax contract expires this summer and while they will be desperate to keep him, it seems likely he’ll move on to a league club. The jump from the National League to L1 is a big one but not completely unbridgeable. A season of apprenticing behind Ricardo Santos could be a great move for the 22 year old.
Di’Shon Bernard (Loan)
Team: Manchester United
Age: 22 (14/10/2000)
I’ve tagged this as a potential loan but it could just as likely be a permanent signing. At the age of 22 and having not made a first team appearance for Manchester United since his debut in November 2019, it’s hard to see Bernard breaking into the first team at Old Trafford and there is a good chance he leaves the club he’s been at since 2017.
Bernard signed a ‘long-term’ deal with United in July 2021*, but it’s hard to say exactly when his contract expires as three different dates have been mentioned online (2023, 2024 and 2026).
Impressed on loan at Portsmouth in the second half of this season and had similarly successful loans at Salford in 20/21 and Hull in 21/22, so has certainly proved himself capable of being a starter in senior football.
As a right footer, Bernard would provide competition to Jones and Toal on the right hand side of defence but could also cover the central centre-back position.
Dynel Simeu (Loan)
Team: Southampton
Age: 21 (13/03/2002)
Simeu started out in Chelsea’s academy before moving to Southampton in 2021, rejecting a new contract with the London club in favour of searching out a clearer pathway to first team football with The Saints.
He’s had three successful EFL loans in the past two seasons — firstly with Carlisle in 21/22, then Tranmere in the first half of this season and Morecambe from January onwards.
With Southampton’s relegation to the Championship, they may want to make Simeu part of their first team setup, however if he is not part of their plans, he could make a useful addition on loan, perhaps with a view to making the deal permanent once his Southampton contract ends in June 2024.
Finley Burns (Loan)
Team: Manchester City
Age: 19 (17/06/2003)
Due to the outstanding success of James Trafford’s loan spell and to a lesser extent the relative success of Luke Mbete’s loan (it wasn’t a complete disaster, he started eight games and got over three times more minutes in two months at Wanderers than he did in three months at Huddersfield), it would not be a surprise to see the relationship between Wanderers and Manchester City further enhanced with another City youngster joining on loan.
In terms of centre-backs, a prime candidate for a season long loan would be Finley Burns. Joining City’s academy from Southend for a reported £175k at the age of 13, Burns has featured just once for the first team — a 6–1 Carabao Cup win against Wycombe in September 2021.
A poor loan spell to Swansea in the second half of the 21/22 season in which he played just 210 minutes has been his only other senior experience, but with close to 60 PL2 games under his belt he now needs to step up from youth football and gain some proper experience. Supremely confident on the ball, Burns would fit right in to what Evatt wants his centre-backs to do in possession.
