TIM Ream will not be seeking to quit the Reebok this summer despite enduring a difficult first season in the Championship.

Life has been far from easy for the former New York Red Bulls defender since his £2million move from the States last January, with relegation from the Premier League followed by an inconsistent spell in which he was rarely guaranteed first-team football.

A move to Middlesbrough was speculated at the start of the week but the 25-year-old’s representative Patrick McCabe claims Ream is ready to fight his corner when the players return for duty at the end of this month.

“The Middlesbrough thing took me aback a little bit,” he told The Bolton News. “If they have made an enquiry then they have done so to the club and not to me.

“Tim has very much liked being in Bolton. He is settled.

“Sure, he probably hasn’t seen as much game time as he would have liked, but my impression is that he is looking forward to getting back into pre-season training and working hard to change that. He’s hoping for a fresh start.”

Ream played only three games under the man who signed him, Owen Coyle, before he was sacked last season.

He then featured in all three of the matches overseen by interim management team of Jimmy Phillips and Sammy Lee but again found himself out of the team when Dougie Freedman was appointed.

Ream found favour around Christmas but was dropped again after Craig Dawson’s arrival on loan from West Brom in January and was only brought back into the team once, in the final-day draw against Blackpool.

The fact he was selected ahead of David Wheater for that must-win match may well offer the American international some encouragement he can earn a regular spot under Freedman in the future.

But with rumours refusing to die down over a permanent return for Dawson, there are still some question marks over just how much action he could see next term.

One suggestion is that Ream could move to full-back, where he played much of his college football.