Bolton Wanderers have confirmed the arrival of midfielder Xavier Simons, after he signed from Hull City for an undisclosed fee.
The 22-year-old midfielder has signed for the Trotters after an impressive campaign, which saw him play 20 games in the Championship for Hull City before a loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers in the second half of the season which ultimately saw them narrowly miss out on automatic promotion from League One.
Bolton Wanderers manager Steven Schumacher was clearly excited with this addition, as he looks to improve on his sides eighth placed finish last season and lead them to promotion this time around, and he made that clear in the following statement which he gave to Bolton’s media team.
"It's great to get Xavier on board. He’s got the qualities and the hunger we look for in a midfielder.
“He’ll bring real energy and a competitive edge to our midfield options; he’s got good legs and isn’t afraid to put a tackle in and has a great passing ability – an all-round midfielder. His grounding at Chelsea means he’s technically sound and he knows what this division is about from his time at Wycombe, on top of his Championship experience with Hull.
“Importantly, Xavier’s desire to be part of Bolton Wanderers is massive for us.
“He has the ability and the character to make a significant impact for us and our fans will appreciate his work rate.”
Xavier himself was also very happy to have signed for Bolton, as he said this when speaking to the club’s media team immediately after signing.
"I'm made up to be joining Bolton Wanderers. It’s a proper football club with a big history and fantastic support. I’m eager to get started.
“The conversations with the Head Coach and Fergal about their vision for the team and the club made my mind up pretty quickly. You can sense the drive here to achieve things and that’s something I was keen to be involved with.
“I really benefited from my loan at Wycombe last season, getting consistent games in League One. I want to bring that energy and commitment here, get on the ball and help the team push forward. My job is to contribute to the team’s success in any way I can.
“This feels like the right move at the right time for me. The club is clearly ambitious and I’m looking forward to getting out at the Toughsheet Community Stadium and playing for the supporters. They can expect me to give my all for the badge.”
What will Simons bring to Bolton?
As Schumacher said in his statement, Simons is a midfielder who is full of drive and energy. He ranks highly amongst midfielders for pass completion and dribbling rates, which will drive Bolton up the pitch next season and excite the fans.
Further, Simons enjoys a shot from range. He scored two goals last season for Hull, both of which were from outside the box, and his average shot distance was just outside the box after 16 efforts in the Championship.
This threat from distance will add an extra weapon to Bolton’s attacking arsenal, making an already exciting attack even more threatening.
Although his attacking contributions are very noticeable, it is in the defensive part of the pitch where Simons will likely have the largest impact. During his spell in League One with Wycombe, he was very rarely dribbled past, and he ranked highly for his rate of success in aerial duels and the number of shots he blocked.
With Bolton conceding a worrying 70 league goals last season, Simons’ defensive capabilities will go a long way to helping solidify the Trotters defensively, which will enable them to pick up more points in their quest for promotion.
However, frustratingly Simons has a tendency to pick up cards. Although it came after a dedicated sprint of half the length of the field in an effort to win the ball, he was sent off for a reckless tackle against Birmingham City, and he received 4 further yellow cards during his time in League One.
Those cards all game at crucial points in games that Wycombe needed to win but were unable to do so. Bolton will be hoping that Simons can iron out the rash decision making so he is not a liability and does not end up costing them points.
What are Bolton’s targets for next season?
When Bolton Wanderers lost the 2024 League One Playoff final to Oxford United, many commenters expected them to kick on for the following campaign and secure a return to the Championship for the first time since 2019.
However, that did not transpire. A dismal run of form, including a 5-0 defeat to neighbors Stockport County, saw Ian Evatt sacked midway through the season and replaced with former Stoke City boss Steven Schumacher.
A run of seven wins in nine games lifted the Trotters into playoff contention, but they were unable to handle the pressure as they only won two of their following 10 games to ultimately slip to eighth place.
Although it is still early in this window, Bolton have made it clear that they expect to significantly improve and earn promotion this season. They have already signed Sam Dalby, who scored 15 Scottish Premiership goals for Dundee United last season, and Simons represents yet another coup for the side with promotion ambitions.
However, with goalkeeper Nathan Baxter and defenders Ricardo Santos and Gethin Jones all departing the Toughsheet Community Stadium, Bolton still have work to do in this summer. Based off of their business so far, you can expect Bolton to strengthen their squad further and to be challenging for promotion yet again at the end of the season.
