FERGAL Harkin remains confident that Wanderers’ recruitment plans are running smoothly this summer.
In his first month at the Toughsheet Stadium, the sporting director has completed five deals, including the sale of striker Aaron Collins to MK Dons.
But business will not stop there for the Whites, as Harkin expects plenty more movement in both directions at Bolton before the start of the new League One season.
“Going back months with Steven (Schumacher) we had talked about the plan, from the very moment I accepted this role,” according to The Bolton News. “And now it’s time to carry it out.
“There are a lot of plates spinning right now, and everything will come into place eventually, but as sporting director, I wanted to offer him players as soon as possible so that he could work with them during pre-season, which is really essential. We’ve already signed a few boys, and more will be joining soon.
“We’ve all stayed to the strategy we made months ago, which is why I’m so calm about it. I know we are on the right track.”
After four moves were confirmed within a week of each other, Bolton had to wait to finalise Chelsea’s Teddy Sharman-Lowe’s season-long loan contract, as the player is presently competing in the Euro Under-21 Championship.
Full-backs and wingers are likely to be Schumacher’s next priority, although no new deals were expected to be finalized by the time the squad returned to Lostock on Tuesday morning.
Harkin explained that while it may appear that things are happening all at once, it can take weeks or months for some to be resolved. Regular communication and openness between Harkin and Steven fosters a positive working relationship. They have a clear and calm plan.
Harkin believes there are numerous variables in Wanderers’ favor when speaking with possible recruits, not the least of which being the stadium itself.
“It’s no surprise to me,” he remarked. “But there are younger players who may not remember Bolton Wanderers in the same sense that I do as a Premier League club.
“But then they come here to the stadium, see the facilities and the training facility, and you can see their eyes light up because they want to be here.
“Xavier (Simons) was an excellent illustration of this. He’d played here previous season and said, “I barely touched the ball,” but he knew the atmosphere was incredible and wanted to be a part of it.
“The club is huge to a lot of people who come here, and you know they want to be a part of it all.”
Harkin joined Bolton after three years at Standard Liege in Belgium, raising the prospect of exploring beyond the UK for new players this summer.
He has downplayed the possibility in the short term, instead focusing on developing the club’s scouting networks and pursuing possibilities through the academy.
“Realistically it is something that we can look at down the line,” he told me. “We have limits on the status of our work permits.
“In an ideal world, every player passes through the academy. So we need to first establish a path for that. But if that’s not the case, we’ll investigate locally first, then worldwide.”
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