GEORGE Thomason is a Championship player in the making according to the manager who recommended him to Wanderers.

Lee Ashcroft believes the talented midfielder has what it takes to go to the top but said he may need another non-league loan to continue his football education.

It was the Longridge Town boss who picked up the phone and rang then Whites manager Keith Hill to tell him about the 18-year-old with a clutch of non-league clubs ready to whisk him away from the Mike Riding Ground club.

Now less than 12 months after joining the Whites, Ashcroft is not surprised that Thomason is picking up plaudits and receiving glowing reports that resulted in Ian Evatt recalling him from Bamber Bridge and giving him a first-team debut against Newcastle Under-21s in the EFL Trophy.

Ashcroft hopes Evatt shows more faith in the youngster and gives him a run in the team – or loans him back out again.

“George is a great player, he has all the attributes to go far in the game,” said the former Preston and West Brom midfielder. “I think he can definitely go on and play in the Championship, he has the potential to be that good.

“It’s great that he has been given a chance at Bolton and he got his debut where he played very well, which was no surprise at all to me.

“I just hope Ian Evatt gives him a run in the team, 10 games or so and let George show what he can do, he’s a special talent.

“I know Ian has a big squad there so it would be a shame if he is just stuck in the stands. He is a young lad who wants to be playing football so maybe another loan to a non-league club, either Brig or higher, would do him good and he can continue his football education.”

He added: “Training with Bolton during the week and playing at the weekend is perfect for him at this stage of his career.

“He learnt a lot off me when he was with us and he learnt from Milly (Jamie Milligan) when he was at Brig. So going back out on loan would not be a a bad thing for him.”

Ashcroft recalls the day Thomason turned up at Longridge with Isaac Sinclair – the son of former QPR and West Ham star Trevor – after leaving Blackpool.

“He was 18 but looked about 15 and came as a left back,” he said. “But we did some keep ball drills and I knew there and then that he was a player, you could just see it and I am quite a good judge.

“The problem was we had a pretty good left back at the time so he wasn’t really in the team.”

Longridge gained promotion from the NWCL First Division and it was on a pre-season trip to North Wales that Ashcroft converted the skinny teenager from left back to centre midfield.

“He started this game at left back and at half time, I changed it up and went 4-3-3 and I stuck George in the middle of the park,” said Ashcroft. “As soon as I saw him on the ball, I said to my assistant ‘that lad is playing in the middle of the park from now on’.

“He had such a great range of passing, really comfortable on the ball. There was nothing on him but he wasn’t afraid to get stuck in.”

With Longridge doing so well, the club’s players were attracting the attention of teams further up the non-league pyramid. But Thomason wasn’t one of the players on their radar.

“We had a few scouts down to watch one of our players, but it wasn’t George,” said Ashcroft. “It was against Rylands and he ran the show. They were then all interested in him then and a couple put seven days notice on him.

“I knew he was going to leave and I thought if he was going, I wanted to get the best possible move for him.

“I spoke to his parents and said ‘if you trust me I will get him a good move’. So I phoned Hilly (Keith Hill) at Bolton and told him about George. He went there for a couple of weeks on trial and they signed him up.”

He added: “He is a smashing lad, I don’t think I have met someone nicer. He keeps in touch and comes and sees us play from time to time when he can.

“I really hope he goes on achieves what he is more than capable of achieving.”