What Bolton Wanderers have been crying out for, for a long time, may well be taken away from them just as they’ve found it.
Wanderers haven’t had a striker that can bag in the region of 20 plus goals a season for some time but, in Cardiff City loanee Adam Le Fondre, they potentially have that at present, with seven goal from 13 starts in a Whites shirt since his arrival in late January.
The problem is that, once the Championship season comes to a close, he will return to his parent club in south Wales.
Another loan deal – preferably, for a full season – would no doubt suit Bolton down to the ground, but it’s likely Cardiff will want to let their frontman go on a permanent basis due to the reported differences between player and club.
Cardiff paid a reported £2.5 million for Le Fondre and, with two years still remaining on his current contract, it’s likely to cost Wanderers a fair amount to tie him down to a permanent deal. And, with Bolton’s current financial situation, that could be a real stumbling block.
Of course, Bolton have academy graduate Zach Clough, who netted five times in six starts before picking up an injury, to return at the start of next season, but you can’t rest all your hopes on a 20-year-old doing the business. Yes, he’s shown unbelievable promise since making the step up to the first-team, but you don’t know what he’s going to perform like next term.
Le Fondre’s from the north; he likes it in this neck of the woods. If Neil Lennon has real ambitions of giving the Championship a real good crack next season, Le Fondre could be his man.
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