Bolton made their first summer signing on Friday, confirming the capture of Swansea midfielder Darren Pratley on a free. The former Fulham trainee was out of contract with the Swans having declined the opportunity to stay with the Welsh club having helped them to promotion via the play-offs.
The 26-year-old arrives at the Reebok on a four-year-deal and will contest for a start in a Bolton midfield which will be missing Stuart Holden who remains sidelined with a knee injury. Right now then, Pratley looks to have every chance to stake a claim for starts and will join Bolton’s tour of the US looking to impress his new boss Owen Coyle.
“It was nice to leave Swansea on a high after gaining promotion to the Premier League and I’m now looking forward to showing the fans what I can do here. Now I’m really looking forward to Monday and getting into training and meeting the lads. The manager outlined some exciting plans and we had a good chat. I’m fully focussed on playing well for Bolton.â€
The Statistics
Pratley begun his career at Craven Cottage but made just a single appearance for Fulham before spending two successful loan spells with neighbours Brentford. Five goals in 46 appearances for the Bees attracted the attention of then Swansea boss Roberto Martinez and, in the summer of 2006, he joined for a modest fee of £100,000.
He made 28 appearances in his first season in Wales, fetching just a single goal but followed that up with 5 goals and 4 assists in the following season after making 39 starts in the League one promotion year. Pratley’s output increased dramatically as he settled into his Liberty Stadium surroundings, he notched 4 goals and 4 assists in 33 starts in his first Championship season in 2008/09 and bettered that again in 2009/10 by finding the net on 7 occasions.
Last season was his best for the club however – 10 goals and 5 assists represented a handsome return for a player who made 28 league starts before contract wrangles and the form of others begun to restrict his involvement to bench duty. Overall Pratley registered 47 shots on goal in the league, striking the woodwork on three occasions – he ended the season with 12 goals from 32 appearances in all competitions.
The Prospects
Pratley himself offered us a handy synopsis of what he will offer to Bolton on his arrival on Friday…
“The fans can expect someone who always gives 100 per cent. I like to get around the pitch and am a bit of a box-to-box player and hopefully I can chip in with a few goals. I managed to get 12 in my last season with Swansea. Hopefully I can continue to score goals from midfield at Bolton.”
That goal threat was surely key to Coyle’s pursuit of Pratley. Bolton scored just 13 goals from midfield areas last season, relying heavily on the strike partnership of Johan Elmander and Kevin Davies in the opening months, with Daniel Sturridge arriving from Chelsea on loan to fire 8 goals and keep the Trotters afloat over the final ten gameweeks.
Pratley is a tireless, athletic player who will fit in well with Bolton’s work ethic. With the influential Holden absent for at least the first month of the season, he could establish himself alongside Fabrice Muamba and, if he can supply an early goal or two, could well cement a starting role.
Fantasy Managers have been deprived of effective potential within the Bolton midfield, with Martin Petrov, Matt Taylor and Lee Chung-Yong failing to maintain regular starts in Coyle’s lineup. Pratley’s engine and physical presence could see him jump the pecking order and, if he can bring his goal threat to the top level, Fantasy Managers may well take notice when Bolton’s fixtures fall in favour.
