"We do miss him" - Dion Charles claim made after Bolton Wanderers exit | OneFootball

The striker has had a difficult time since leaving Greater Manchester, but the Trotters have had their own difficulties.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Bolton Wanderers' season has never truly got going, and the fallout after losing the play-off final to Oxford United in May has had a huge impact on their chances of getting out of League One in 2024/25.

The Trotters are currently eighth in the third tier, level on points with Leyton Orient and Charlton Athletic, who are just above them on goal difference and a top six finish is within reach.

However, a lack of competitiveness at the start of the season has seen those in the automatic promotion fight leave Steven Schumacher's new side behind and if they want to return to the Championship, it looks as though it will have to be done through the play-offs.

Ian Evatt's sacking at the end of January has seen an up-turn in results, but the decision to let Dion Charles move to Huddersfield Town for £750,000 may still have question marks around it, especially when the Terriers' league position is considered compared to Bolton's.

Verdict made on whether Bolton are missing Charles

The 29-year-old was one of the players who had struggled to maintain his standards from last season into the current campaign, and when he left the Toughsheet Community Stadium last month, he had only found the back of the net seven times.

While he has not always been the most prolific of forwards, he did struggle more with the Trotters in his final months before leaving for Huddersfield.

Nevertheless, his quality has shone through on occasion this season and he does have the ability to turn a game on its head.

Football League World has asked their Bolton Fan Pundit, Liam O'Meara, if the Greater Manchester outfit are missing their former number 10.

He told FLW: "Are we missing Dion Charles is a much more complex question because there are two different versions of him to consider.

"There is the one of the last few seasons, who is our main man and a 20 goal a season striker leading the line, the one that other teams were envious of. Yes, of course, we miss Charles, any team would miss that.

"However, the facts are that we sold an out of form Charles, who was struggling to recapture the form of previous seasons and that looks to have carried on through Huddersfield. I don't doubt that he will turn it around, he's good. But we are not necessarily missing that one."

Liam continued: "I think what confirms the situation a little bit is we brought in Kion Etete from Cardiff on loan to essentially give us a different dynamic, but he's been injured and has just been ruled out for over a month with another injury.

"So, on that basis, in terms of bodies and options up front, yes, we do miss him, but I think it's more that we didn't replace him properly, rather than missing Charles himself."

Charles has not had the impact at Huddersfield that he would have hoped for

Signing Charles from Bolton was a huge statement from Huddersfield, having only just brought in Luton Town's Joe Taylor for £3m.

However, the latter has had fitness issues and the ex-Trotter has struggled to find form early on at the John Smith's Stadium despite the significant fee that was paid for him.

He has made six appearances for the Terriers in League One and he has failed to find the back of the net in any of them. However, for Bolton fans, keeping hold of Charles may have been desired as he does have the ability to score goals at important times and with Kion Etete out injured, he cannot provide that.

Nevertheless, at 29, the forward is less likely to develop and letting go now was possibly for the best, although Schumacher may have had a different idea about the scenario.