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Occasional Republic of Ireland midfielder Keith Andrews has been under contract to Bolton Wanderers for quite a while now. However, he has not played with the club in over a year. Andrews spent most of last season on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion. News has come out today that the 33-year-old will spend the 2014-2015 season on loan at Watford FC.
The loan is for one season, and Andrews will be ineligible to play against Bolton, which is standard for these deals. The larger question is not why has Andrews gone out on loan (again), but rather why Dougie Freedman sees no use for him. The season before last Andrews was an important part of a Bolton team that missed the playoffs by one point. I know the club has built a fair amount of depth in central midfield, but Andrews still appears to be a useful player.
Maybe Freedman will comment now that the loan is finalized. Andrews will say something, but player comments in these situations are often a combination of bitter and cryptic, offering no real insight. There have been a few player departures in Dougie's time at the club that could be called peculiar, I wonder if we will ever learn what really happened...