THE transfer window is open, but some Wanderers fans are uneasy because of the team’s comparatively quiet summer hiring thus far.

Due to their play-off involvement, Bolton’s own pre-season schedule is later than usual. Additionally, with the Euros in full swing, national media interest has shifted from the gossip columns to Germany for the time being.

As of this writing, Bolton is one of 16 teams in League One who have announced at least one new addition. There have been 41 confirmed transactions completed overall. There are eight teams that haven’t signed any players yet.

After being relegated from the Championship and hiring Steve Evans as their new manager, Rotherham United has been the busiest, bringing in eight new players to their roster.

Bolton added its first new player to the team when Wycombe’s Chris Forino signed a three-year contract. It’s unclear if the 24-year-old marks the beginning of a hectic few months, but we’ve examined every summer’s first signing over the last 20 to see if they offered Wanderers any indication of success or failure.

2004–Reports state that Sam Allardyce had agreements ready to go with midfielder Muzzy Izzet, Croatian striker Dado Prso, and defender David Unsworth over his desire to spend money to advance Bolton. However, the less-than-glamorous arrival of former Sunderland striker Michael Bridges, who never made a first team appearance, marked the beginning of what turned out to be a remarkable transfer window.

2005: A number of well-known players were linked to Wanderers, including Portuguese winger Luis Figo, France international midfielder Olivier Dacourt, and fellow countryman Laurent Robert. However, the first official summer transfer was El-Hadji Diouf, a familiar face who came from Liverpool for £4 million, then the most expensive transfer in Wanderers’ history.

2006: Allardyce had a chaotic summer of transfers, none more so than his first acquisition, Israel international Idan Tal. The player had no influence in his 20 games and one season with the Whites, and the deal ultimately became the focus of a significant investigation, placing pressure and unwelcome headlines on the Bolton manager.

In 2007, following Allardyce’s departure and the dismantling of his backroom, Wanderers were in disarray. However, Sammy Lee, Allardyce’s successor, inherited a few deals that had already been agreed upon by the club, including injured Swiss midfielder Blerim Dzemaili, Aston Villa full-back Joel Samuel, Sunderland midfielder Gavin McCann, and the now-famous Bordeaux left-back, Gerald Cid.

In 2008, Gary Megson made significant summer purchases in an attempt to escape the relegation struggle of the previous season. The first official signing was Birmingham City midfielder Fabrice Muamba, a £5 million signing, and was quickly followed by another club record, the £8.2 million Sweden international, Johan Elmander.

The transfer of Daniel Braaten, a Norwegian international, to Toulouse in the opposite direction drove striker Elmander’s price closer to the £10 million threshold.

2009: Megson was ecstatic to sign Sean Davis, a midfielder for Portsmouth, on a free transfer, just six months after his £3.5 million bid was rejected. The idea was to use the former England Under-21 player as the foundation of a team, but we never saw the best of him because of a devastating knee injury sustained early in his Bolton career.

2010: After announcing the release of Bulgarian international Martin Petrov by Manchester City, Owen Coyle believed he had secured the best Bosman deal available. In the same breath, Robbie Blake, his former Burnley ward, was also named.

2011 saw Coyle seize another free agent who he thought was a value when Darren Pratley joined from Swansea City. Despite some detractors, the Londoner went on to play more than 200 games and captain the squad.

In addition, the Bolton manager was attempting to raise funds to acquire Spanish player Thiago Alcantara from Barcelona and sign Rodrigo Moreno from Benfica.

2012: After being demoted from the Premier League, Wanderers took a chance by keeping a large payroll and recruiting some Championship veterans with long contracts.

The first was Ireland’s Keith Andrews, a midfielder, who had received offers from West Brom to sign a new contract and from Huddersfield Town.

Carlos Sanchez, a midfielder from Colombia, was another player Coyle desired, but he was having trouble closing the deal.

2013: After taking over as manager the year before, Dougie Freedman was entrusted with bringing in younger players in order to cut down on the club’s enormous pay cost.

The first players through the door were Millwall’s Connor Wilkinson and Sheffield Wednesday’s Hayden White, while full-back Marc Tierney was the first senior signing of the summer.

2014–After a successful loan, Freedman arranged for another wave of free transfers at the beginning of the 2014–15 campaign, making Neil Danns, a midfielder for Leicester City, his first long-term addition.

The same day saw the return of Liam Feeney and Liam Trotter from Millwall, who had both performed admirably while out on loan the previous season.

The fourth recruit, Andy Robinson from Southampton, will not be remembered by many Bolton supporters, as he left the team after only a few months and returned to the South Coast, citing homesickness as his cause.

2015 saw the opening of Neil Lennon’s first summer transfer window with two major announcements: Ben Amos, who had impressed while on loan at Manchester United the previous season, was signed on a free transfer and would take over as the team’s number one after negotiations with Adam Bogdan fell down.

Supporters were shocked when Lennon revealed that former Sheffield Wednesday and Blackpool striker Gary Madine had been offered a two-year contract. Fans had anticipated that Wanderers would recruit Craig Morgan of Rotherham United and would also be linked to Honduran midfielder Wilson Palacios.

2016: Prior to signing ex-Oldham and Blackburn winger Chris Taylor, Phil Parkinson had been linked to a number of players from his previous club, Bradford City. Taylor did not prove to be Parkinson’s most successful signing that summer, playing 23 games but having a falling out with fans after he was allegedly seen making a gesture towards them at a Rochdale game.

2017: Mark Little, the full-back, was the first official transfer to join Wanderers after promotion to the Championship. However, Andy Taylor, Will Buckley, and the team’s idol, Adam Le Fondre, all began their contracts on July 1.

2018 saw Parkinson try to bolster his team in a different way following the Great Escape. The first player to arrive was former Blackburn Rovers midfielder Jason Lowe.

Later on in the day, Lowe was unveiled with Walsall’s playmaker Erhun Oztumer and striker Clayton Donaldson. Lowe would go on to captain Wanderers during the harder times to come.

2019 – Due to Bolton’s disarray at the beginning of the 2019–20 season, the EFL only approved their first permanent signing the morning of their season opener at Wycombe.

James Weir, a former midfielder for Manchester United, made his debut right away, playing with Josh Earl, a young player on loan, and a number of other players, some of whom had driven to Adams Park that morning.

After the Great Escape, Parkinson attempted to strengthen his team in a new manner in 2018. Jason Lowe, the former midfielder for Blackburn Rovers, was the first player to come.

Later in the day, Lowe was presented with Clayton Donaldson, the striker, and Erhun Oztumer, the playmaker for Walsall. Lowe would later lead Wanderers through the upcoming difficult times as captain.

2019 – The EFL only allowed Bolton’s first permanent signing the morning of their season opener at Wycombe because of their disarray at the start of the 2019–20 campaign.

Former Manchester United midfielder James Weir made his debut straight away, partnering with young youngster Josh Earl on loan and a slew of other players, a few of whom had driven to Adams Park that morning.

2022: The first senior signing of the summer was Australian defender Jack Iredale, who came from Cambridge United. However, Connor Carty and Nelson Khumbeni were among the other players announced for the newly-formed B Team.

2023 – Dan Nlundulu’s permanent transfer from Southampton was finalised on May 24 of last summer, although Nathan Baxter, a former Chelsea custodian, was the first new player to join the team on June 19.