After narrowly avoiding expulsion from the EFL earlier in the season, Bolton look to be moving in the right direction.
The 12-point deduction that they began the season with is going to make League One survival a very difficult task but their three draws in September proved that the squad was beginning to find their feet.
They remain rock bottom in the third division of English football and as they're already 18 points away from safety, face a mammoth task this season.
Their squad was decimated in the summer by their financial struggles and the Trotters' current cast is a mix of youth players and loan and free-agent signings.
It appears the North West club are keen to continue to keep strengthening as Keith Hill has told the Bolton News that the club are interested in signing out-of-contract winger Ben Marshall.
The 28-year-old is understood to be training with the club with the potential of a signing a contract in the future.
With that in mind, we have outlined three reasons why signing Marshall is a no-brainer for Bolton.
It allows them to strengthen without breaking the bank.
The loan and free agent signings that the Trotters have made since the successful takeover by Football Ventures has no doubt helped to replenish the squad but more quality is certainly needed.
Marshall can provide just that. He featured regularly for Millwall in the second half of last season and helped them secure Championship survival with a 21st-place finish.
The 28-year-old was released by Norwich City in the summer and at this point doesn’t seem to have a lot of other options, so they should be able to add him to the squad for relatively cheap.
He will bring bags of experience.
A large part of Bolton’s squad is made up of young talent from their academy, so Marshall’s experience should be a real boost.
The wide-man has more than 300 combined Championship and League One appearances to his name, which will likely make him a real asset to Hill and may be beneficial for many of the young players in the squad.
He offers real versatility.
A wide-midfielder by trade, Marshall is comfortable playing on either flank but is also capable in central midfield and as a wingback.
With Bolton’s squad still thin following the events of the summer, adding a versatile player like Marshall should be really useful for Hill and help raise the quality of his squad across multiple positions.
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