Bolton Wanderers' efforts to strengthen their defence have received a set-back as their bid for Swansea's Declan John has been rejected, according to Football Insider.

The Trotters have one of the leakiest defences in League Two, and have conceded 13 goals in their last five games - six of them coming in one game at home to Port Vale.

Their frailties were exposed again on Boxing Day as they went 3-0 down to Carlisle United, only to secure a remarkable comeback to draw 3-3.

Manager Ian Evatt uses a wing back system with three centre halves, and Gethin Jones - a right back by trade - has been regularly used at left wing back.

And it's become clear that a left wing back needs to be brought in to help Wanderers on both the attacking and defensive end of things, and Evatt has seemingly targeted John to do just that.

A Cardiff City academy graduate, 25-year-old John signed for Swansea in August 2018 from Rangers and has made just 11 league appearances for the club - but none of those have come in the current campaign.

The Welshman has been frozen out by Steve Cooper and seemingly has no future at the club, and he even made a January 2020 loan move to Sunderland that saw him make no appearances before the League One season was curtailed.

Swansea don't seem to have any intentions of keeping John but have still turned down an offer from Bolton for John, and that could be down to some kind of wage contributions or Wanderers simply not offering enough.

The Verdict

With John out of contract in June anyway, it surely won't take much to prize him away from the Liberty Stadium.

If Bolton see him as a first choice target then you can expect them to be back in for him in the near future, and due to the state of their defence it's imperative that they sort John or an alternative left back quickly.

Evatt is under pressure from fans due to Wanderers' indifferent start to the season, but if he can get his January targets like John over the line then it could see them start climbing the table towards the play offs.