Bolton Wanderers chief Fergal Harkin defends loans policy

Bolton’s sporting director was pleased with the business done over the January transfer window, which saw seven additions and seven exits at the Toughsheet Stadium.

Of the incoming players three – Corey Blackett-Taylor, Rob Apter and Johnny Kenny – were loans, bringing the total number to seven in the squad.

Though Teddy Sharman-Lowe returned to Chelsea, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Marcus Forss, Ibrahim Cissoko and Mason Burstow remain on the books, meaning loan players make up roughly a third of the players currently on the first team roster.

Four other players – Jack Bonham, David Harrington, Ruben Rodrigues and Lewis Temple – were signed on a permanent basis. But asked if there had been any change in Wanderers’ transfer policy to lean specifically on loans this season, Harkin said a “healthy budget” was used to bring in players who had the right character and experience to fight at the top end of the table.

“If we had our choice we’d do as many permanent deals as we could but there are a number of reasons why that wasn’t possible, especially in January,” he told The Bolton News.

“There’s the finances, and obviously permanent players tend to demand a transfer fee, and some of them quite substantial.

“There’s also the availability. Teams want to loan players out in January rather than sell them, so we had a list of permanents, we had a list of potential loans, and in the end decided to bring in the best players that we could.”

Concerns have been voiced over longer-term planning, and whether Wanderers have caused issues for themselves in the summer by basing so much of their squad around loan players.

Harkin understands the argument but believes the club has mitigated as many issues as they could by doing their homework on each new arrival to ensure they ‘buy in’ to the promotion bid.

“There is always the argument about what happens in the future, I understand it, and that is why permanent signings are better,” he said.

“But one thing I always look to do is find out about the character of the players we want to sign and make sure that if they come to the club then they are all about Bolton Wanderers.

“Permanent signings are here for the long term, the guys that we brought in in January, every one of them has a point to prove and wants to come and perform, and that's what we want, hungry players that are committed and determined.”

The sale of Aaron Morley to Wycombe brought in a reported £750,000 and though no headline-grabbing fees have been paid in the window, Harkin insists the budget made available by the board enabled Wanderers to be competitive.

“I've been given a very healthy budget by the owners that really, really supported everything that we wanted to do, but it still is a budget that I need to manage and I can't go crazy on it,” he said.

“There were some players out there that simply were beyond our means financially, but like I said, the ones that have come in really, really happy and hopefully it's money well spent.”

This article is part of a wider interview with Fergal Harkin, with further stories to come on the signing of Johnny Kenny, the departure of Teddy Sharman-Lowe and Tyler Miller, and the net spend at Wanderers.

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All the articles will also be featured in the print version of The Bolton News.