Preston North End are set to face Bolton Wanderers in their Championship opener, with the Trotters looking to strengthen their squad ahead of the big game. Bolton boss Steven Schumacher has admitted that a new signing would be perfectly timed as the club builds towards Saturday's afternoon's big game, with a packed-out crowd at the Toughsheet Stadium.
What happened?
Wanderers will be working overtime to get attacking signings over the line before their Championship kick-off against Preston North End. Steven Schumacher admits a new signing or two would be perfectly timed as the club builds towards Saturday's afternoon's big game, with a packed-out crowd at the Toughsheet Stadium.
Why it matters for Preston
Xavier Simons' red card against Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup means he will miss the next three games – and the 1-0 defeat at Hillsborough underlined some of the fans' concerns about the depth of Schumacher's squad in some areas.
What comes next?
Bolton remain in discussion with KAA Gent over striker Max Dean and have been linked with a number of loan signings, including Liverpool's Kieran Morrison, Auxerre's Theo Bair and last season's terrace hero, Amario Cozier-Duberry, who came off the bench for Brighton against Roma at the weekend. Celtic's Johnny Kenny has also been strongly linked with a return, although the club's assistant manager Shaun Maloney – formerly in charge at Wigan – claimed at the weekend that the Irish international was keen to stay at Parkhead.
Wanderers are currently 14th in the Championship, with 60 points from 46 games last season, and are 35 points behind leaders Coventry. They have scored 55 goals and conceded 62 this season, with their next fixture against Millwall at home on October 10. Schumacher reiterated that he was not the only manager in the Championship who had been frustrated by a slow transfer market this summer – and he is optimistic that the club's recruitment department will deliver the goods.
