Bolton Wanderers have moved a step closer to bringing in Swansea City left back Declan John on a loan deal until the end of the season, per local reporter Marc Iles.

Manager Ian Evatt has identified that position as a problem area of his squad, with natural right-sided player Gethin Jones filling in for most of the season.

Wanderers were reportedly knocked back last week in their attempts to sign John before the transfer window opened, but a breakthrough has seemingly been made.

Iles claims that 25-year-old John will complete his temporary switch to the University of Bolton Stadium after falling out of favour in South Wales, and with his contract up at the Liberty Stadium at the end of the season it may lead to a permanent move.

 

Quiz: Have any of these 22 players ever been in Bolton Wanderers’ academy?

 

 

John started out at Cardiff City's academy before making 42 league appearances for their first team, with loan stints at Barnsley, Chesterfield and Rangers in-between.

The Wales international made a permanent switch to Scottish giants Rangers in January 2018 after spending the first half of the 2017/18 campaign on loan, but he was soon out of the door at Ibrox as he sealed a move to the Swans in the summer of the same year.

It's never quite happened for John though at Swansea, making just 11 league appearances since his arrival and he's been completely frozen out by Steve Cooper this season.

And the Trotters are set to save John from his extended exile as he looks to get his career back on track.

The Verdict

On the face of it this looks like a brilliant coup for Bolton, who have desperately needed a left wing back for months.

John won't be match-fit on his arrival on the basis of not playing a game for Swansea since January 2020, but once he's ready he should be a top, top player in League Two.

Of course though it's not a certainty that John will be a success, and he's definitely not developed into the star that people thought he might be when he made his Wales debut at the age of 18, but at 25 years old he's still got room to develop and with regular football he could still make it back to the Championship.