Three baby Bolton Wanderers handed grown-up deals

We have followed David Lee and Tony Kelly's Bolton Wanderers U18 side fairly closely this season. The young Whites did exceptionally well in the first half of the season, finishing second in their group table. The second half of the season, where Bolton play other top development teams, has not been so kind to them but there is good reason for that. A few of the U18s' (arguably) brightest stars have seen extended time with the U21s and one has been named in a few first team matchday squads this season.

As a result of their hard work, obvious talent, and enormous potential, Bolton Wanderers have rewarded a trio of youngsters have been handed professional deals with the club. Per the Bolton News, Zach Clough, Chris Lester, and Luke Woodland were all offered professional deals while four other youngsters (Tom Youngs, Niall Maher, Glenn Matthews and goalkeeper Jan-Ole Sievers) were offered one year extensions to stay with the academy. Those four will have the ability to try for professional deals next year.

The move is a testament to the quality of Bolton's academy under the stewardship of Jimmy Phillips, Tony Kelly, David Lee, and Sammy Lee. Where once the only academy products of any real note were Nicky Hunt, Kevin Nolan, and Ricardo Vaz Te, the club are bringing many more through. Josh Vela and Joe Riley are two of the more recent names to get first team chances while Alex McQuade, Sanmi Odelusi, and Andy Kellett were offered similar terms at the start of the season. Still, Trotters fans can expect more names to join those ranks soon.