WANDERERS are on the verge of landing Swansea defender Nathanael Ogbeta.
The former Manchester City trainee, who can play as a wing-back or left centre-back, recently returned to the Championship following a quad injury.
Multiple sources during last night’s FA Cup match between Bournemouth and Swansea – which ended 5-0 – confirmed that Ogbeta had been cleared to join Bolton.
He played two seasons in League One for Shrewsbury Town, making 58 appearances and scoring twice, before being signed by Swansea in January 2022 for a reported fee of £300,000.
A lack of playing time in South Wales led to a move to Peterborough United – back in League One – which proved successful until injury ended at the end of April last year.
Local reports also claim that Posh tried to loan him out again this month.The Salford-born 22-year-old has represented England at youth level and it is hoped the deal will be completed in time for him to face Carlisle United on Saturday.
Randell Williams will be out for several weeks with the Wanderers with a hamstring injury, and with Will Forrester and George Johnston also out, defensive cover is poor.
Ian Evatt suggested at his press conference yesterday afternoon that change was imminent.
“There is progress and a lot is happening behind the scenes,” he said. “We hope to have another one next weekend and more to come.
“We need some bodies. We need a bit of rejuvenation in the squad and the squad and losing Randell for six or seven weeks is a big blow, so we are a bit light.
”Injuries have recently changed Bolton’s transfer focus, meaning the remaining six days of the window could be busier than expected.
“We were always happy with what we had,” Evatt said. “But in the January period you have to be fluid because things can happen and people can get hurt. We always try to maintain it.
“We had an eye to improve and improve. With this, things have evolved and there are some good opportunities for us to improve our team, so hopefully we can do that before the window closes.
Ogbeta has been on the bench for Swansea in recent games, meaning Bolton have had to be patient before signing him.
But it is not yet known whether the agreement will initially be a rental or permanent one.
“We won’t do anything impulsive,” Evatt said yesterday. “We try to do everything at the right price.
We must remain firm.“We are prepared to walk away from deals and we have done it in the past – we did it last summer and we will do it again. We clearly enjoy everything we do, and as soon as it gets too difficult, we walk away.”
