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A report yesterday from Echo News said Southend United were looking to sign Dominic Samuel to boost their hopes of getting out of League One. Today however, The Bolton News have claimed that promotion rivals Wanderers are rivalling their interest for a loan move.
Echo News did indeed say that Southend aren't the only team tracking the young forward, with six other clubs in the mix. Now, it seems, we can add the Trotters to that list.
Reading legend Phil Parkinson, now in charge at the Macron, has reportedly been keen on signing Samuel for several months, but his interest could be hampered by Bolton's transfer embargo which limits them to 23 senior players.
They currently have 22 in their squad, but bringing in Samuel could naturally end hopes of signing any more players this January, excluding any departures.
Parkinson told The Bolton News:
“We are working on quite a few things. But at this moment in time there is nothing imminent, in or out, so it looks like we will have to be a little patient for the time being.”
Samuel has struggled for game time this season, scoring twice (against Burton and Blackburn) in fifteen appearances. And, although he hasn't found his feet under Jaap Stam, he's still got a decent enough record at League One level.
Whilst out on loan in the last couple of seasons, Samuel has netted seven times in 25 appearances for Gillingham, and six times in 13 for Coventry City.
Reading also have a number of options up front, so losing Samuel wouldn't make too much of a dent in the squad. Besides Yann Kermorgant, we can also call on Yakou Meite, Deniss Rakels (when fit) and Joseph Mendes - if he ever gets round to playing.
As of Tuesday night, it would also appear that Stam would rather play with no strikers at all than give Dominic Samuel a start. So, yeh, his opportunities could be limited.