WANDERERS have recalled young midfielder George Thomason from a loan spell with non-league Bamber Bridge.

The 18-year-old could make his Bolton debut against Newcastle United’s Under-21s in the Papa John’s Trophy tonight.

Thomason has impressed in the Northern Premier League this season, with Ian Evatt confirming last week that he was keeping a close eye on his development.

Signed from North West Counties League Longridge Town in January by former Bolton boss Keith Hill, Thomason made a few appearances for Wanderers in pre-season before being moved to the Sir Tom Finney Stadium to gain senior experience alongside Callum King-Harmes.

Bamber Bridge’s last game before lockdown was on November 3 but Thomason has been training with the first team and looks set to play some part in a much-changed line-up tonight.

Ian Evatt hopes some of his fringe players can make a case to step up against Newcastle’s youngsters, who also find themselves unable to progress to the next stage of the competition.

Speaking yesterday, the Whites boss said he is keen to keep standards as high as they were against Salford on Friday.

“Winning games always breeds confidence and being part of a winning team always breeds confidence and if you could see the lads this morning, they’re a lot happier, they’re bouncing, and they’ve gained a lot from that.

“But it’s important as a group, not individuals. We build from that and we use that as a platform to kick on from.

“We’ve got some good games coming up, some good opportunities to win, but we have to keep that work ethic first and foremost from Friday and then add quality.

“I still think we can be loads better with the ball. The transition from out of possession to in possession still isn’t where I want it, but we’re working hard and we’re trying to improve and on Friday we did improve and we got the right result so we need to take that form into the game on Tuesday night where the others will get an opportunity to play and perform and then into Saturday against Stevenage which will be a difficult game away from home.”