Given that James Trafford boasts some of the EFL’s most impressive goalkeeping statistics, it seems rather alarmist to claim his position is one of concern for Wanderers.

Thanks to his form between the sticks over the last 11 months at the University of Bolton Stadium the Manchester City loanee has broken into the England Under-21 set-up and grabbed an impressive 15 clean sheets in League One – something no other goalkeeper has managed in the same timescale.

The issue for Ian Evatt, and for the Whites as they build a squad they hope can be plying its trade in the Championship next season, is that Trafford is somebody else’s property.

While the short-term recipients of Trafford’s form are clearly Wanderers, and no-one would describe his presence as anything other than a success, it is a fact that his longer-term future is at the Etihad where there is an increasing belief he could eventually play Premier League football.

The prospect of a third loan spell next season looks doubtful, and that leaves Bolton in an invidious situation. Striving to play a higher level of football, they will also need someone to step into a key position on the pitch from 2023/24 onwards.

Since the turn of 2012, when the legendary Jussi Jaaskelainen made the last of his 530 appearances for Wanderers against Wolves in the Premier League, the following decade has seen a dozen different players play in goal for the club.

Trafford is the latest number one in a procession which included Adam Bogdan, Andy Lonergan, Ben Amos, Paul Rachubka, Ben Alnwick, Mark Howard, Remi Matthews, Matt Alexander, Billy Crellin, Matt Gilks and Joel Dixon.

Of that list only three – Rachubka, Alexander and Crellin – failed to play in more than a single season, and Hungarian Bogdan is the only keeper to have played in more than three.

That gradual turnover has become a fact of life for Bolton, who had been anchored by the presence of the Big Finn, Jaaskelainen, and his predecessor Keith Branagan, for the better part of two decades beforehand.

In normal circumstances, we may look towards Trafford’s understudy for the next person in line. But, if anything, Joel Dixon’s future at the UniBol looks less certain.

Signed from Barrow at the start of last season at a time when goalkeeper coach Matt Gilks was still regarded as first choice, Dixon seized control of the position and played 23 consecutive games in League One – a run which culminated in four successive defeats, with Wanderers dropping to 18th spot in the table.

Much like the season before, when Evatt was forced to abandon Fleetwood loanee Billy Crellin in favour of bringing Gilks out of semi-retirement in search of promotion from League Two, the Bolton boss again had to find an answer midway through the season.

Trafford was signed on loan from Manchester City after a poor spell at Accrington Stanley but quickly won over his doubters to make the number one spot his own.

Dixon had more than a year to run on his contract with Bolton, and despite some tabloid reports linking him with a return to Barrow over the summer, he continued into the current season as Trafford’s understudy – a role which is perhaps more difficult at Bolton than anywhere else in the division.

In all but a handful of occasions in the league, Ian Evatt has declined to name a goalkeeper on his substitute’s bench, preferring to add an extra attacking option instead. The policy – while carrying an obvious risk – has also brought some reward, as evidenced by a few dramatic late comebacks and the club’s mantle as the leading goal-scorers in the last 15 minutes of games.

Debate continues on a weekly basis as to what would happen if Trafford were to pick up an injury, forcing an outfield player in goal, and though there have been a few heart-in-mouth moments, the theory has thankfully never been put to the test.

It may be worth considering, however, whether Dixon’s demotion has an impact on his preparation or confidence levels for when he is called upon in the cup competitions. In short, is this a problem of Bolton’s own unique design?

Wanderers’ B Team would ordinarily be a refuge for regular football but that has been almost exclusively the domain of homegrown keeper, Luke Hutchinson, with Dixon playing only once in the Central League so far, against Lincoln City.

Dixon has made six appearances in the League Cup and Papa Johns Trophy but a chain of mistakes within those games have left him open to heavy criticism.

The poor run stretches back to last January when his late kicking error led to a late winning goal for Hartlepool United and an ignominious exit in the last 16 of the Papa Johns – a trophy Evatt felt the club had a realistic chance of lifting.

Positioning questioned at Tranmere and at home to Aston Villa, handling against Crewe, Dixon’s difficult run has shown no sign of slowing down. Earlier this week, a spill in the build-up to Barrow’s first goal left him vulnerable once again – prompting Evatt to leap to his keeper’s defence in the post-match press conference.

“Joel will be disappointed with it and I know he’s better than that,” Evatt told The Bolton News. “He has been training really well and, for whatever reason at the moment, every mistake he seems to make in games, it seems to go in.

“But we think he’s a really good goalkeeper, we’ll support him. There will be nobody more disappointed than Joel Dixon with that goal, but the most important thing is the team managed to rally and get us through to the next round.”

Evatt’s protectiveness is understandable, given there is five weeks left before the transfer window opens and he may yet have to draw on Dixon’s services.

But with the 28-year-old out of contract in the summer – theoretically leaving Bolton with no senior keeper – it would be no surprise if the Wanderers boss saw a goalkeeper as one of his main priorities in the market.

Evatt has already shown himself wiling to nip ahead of other clubs to get business done in the winter window, rather than enter into a more crowded summer market. And the club have also invested small cash fees into players like Dion Charles, Aaron Morley and Kyle Dempsey to get themselves ahead of the pack.

Trafford’s claim as number one seems unshakable – but there could be a strong argument to suggest investment in January is equally as important, if not more so, than up front if Wanderers want to evolve their squad further.