Zach Clough Transfer: It Hurts More When They're One of Your Own

It's a fact that as a Bolton Wanderers supporter you have to accept that your heroes are often picked up by bigger clubs.

It happened with Sasa Curcic.

It happened with Alan Thompson.

It happened with Gary Cahill.

It happened with Nicolas Anelka.

It's happened to Zach Clough.

Moving on was inevitable. Moving on was always likely given his profile and given his obvious ability.

But this one hurts.

Nottingham Forest used to be a fine club. Now they're a tinpot, half arsed and ragtag mob headed up by a man whom I wouldn't trust to run my hotmail account, never mind my football club.

Zach Clough is an immensely talented footballer and he is surely deserving of a bigger stage than Bolton Wanderers. I wouldn't in a million years have pegged that bigger stage to be at Nottingham Forest.

Clough's star shone brightly during his time at Bolton, and I have full confidence in the lad that it will regain that same brightness during his spell at the City Ground.

He leaves with some fantastic memories in the bank, and it's just a shame that circumstances beyond his, and ours, and most likely Ken Anderson's control so that we have to let him go for a steal.

It's not so long ago that a reported fee of £12m was Ken's magic number. Not a penny less, we were told.

It turns out that we have sold him for a third of that amount. Granted there will be add-ons and clauses and bonuses for Bolton much in the way that we structured the deal with Rob Holding and Arsenal.

I wish we could've kept him for longer. Our squad and our club is poorer off for losing him.

Good luck Zach, and see you next season.