"Once I heard that Bolton were in for me I knew where I wanted to play my football," says recent loan recruit
Bolton’s new loan signing Craig Dawson admitted that there were other clubs in the queue to sign him, but after hearing of Wanderers’ interest it didn’t take long to decide where he wanted to go.
The defender arrived from West Brom last week on a three-month loan deal, and is excited about joining up with a group of players he believes is full of quality.
Playing for Dougie Freedman was another draw for the Rochdale-born centre back, as he believes the Bolton boss can help develop his talent and improve him as a player.
He said: “I knew about the club’s interest quite a while ago. There were a few options available to me, but once I heard that Bolton were in for me I knew where I wanted to play my football.
“I’m delighted to be here. It’s a massive club with some quality players and, most of all, a great manager. He’s a young, exciting coach and I’m really looking forward to settling in and working hard.
“I’d heard a lot of good things about him and I’ve seen it for myself in over the first few days that I’ve been here. We had a chat and I liked what he said, so that was a big factor in my decision to sign.
“Hopefully I can play in a lot of games and help the club push up the table. To keep improving you need to be playing games and hopefully I can challenge for a position here.”
The 22-year-old revealed it wasn’t just the manager who helped sell him the club. He also spoke to Marvin Sordell, a teammate from both England Under-21s and the Team GB squad from this summer’s Olympics.
Dawson added: “I spoke to Marvin before I came here to try and get a little bit of inside information. Everything I heard was positive and I’ve seen that there’s a great set of lads here.
“I know him quite well and he’s been a friendly face, but the whole team has made me feel welcome and I’ve got on well with everybody.”