ANTONI Sarcevic is confident new boy Will Aimson can challenge for a starting spot in Wanderers’ defence this season.

The club skipper played alongside Aimson at Plymouth Argyle two years ago and saw plenty to suggest he will be a good addition to Ian Evatt’s squad in League One.

Centre-back looks like being a fiercely contested spot after promotion, with last season’s mainstays Ricardo Santos and Alex Baptiste now rivalled by two new summer signings.

And Sarcevic has given his blessing to Aimson – who played 46 games in this division last season – believing he can push for a place in the team.

“I know from playing with Will that he’ll bring something to the table,” he told The Bolton News. “He’ll add to what is looking like a very strong defensive until in the middle there, and he’ll be the fourth one added to it.

“He’s a great lad, I got on well with him at Plymouth, even though he struggled with injuries a bit in that first season. I saw plenty of him when he trained and I know he’s a good defender who’ll bring good competition.”

Centre-back was one of the trouble spots for Bolton at the start of last season, with seven different players featuring in a back three which struggled to settle.

Evatt believes Wanderers’ poor early form cost them a shot at winning the League Two title outright.

“I am biased, but I genuinely believe we were the best team in the league,” the manager said. “I’m disappointed that we didn’t win the league but we gave ourselves too much to do.

“The main focus was promotion, we managed to achieve that, but giving the league a 20-game head-start, it wasn’t quite there for us to be able to win it.

“We lost all our chances with that poor start but also there were two or three games in the run-in that we shouldn’t have lost as well.

“I felt like we were the best team but we have to go and prove that again next season.”

Sarcevic is happy to see Wanderers doing good early business this summer and believes there will be better competition for places than there was 12 months ago.

“It’s exciting,” he said. “You can see we are adding good players and that we are getting good competition in all areas. “We just didn’t have that last year. We relied on a lot of players to play a lot of games but I think this year the squad is looking more competitive, which I think can only benefit us.

“You just look at the centre-backs there – the gaffer brought in one new player, George Johnston, then you have Rico and Baps, who were brilliant last season. And now Will, who is a really good competitor. It’s a good mix, I think.”