Current Bolton Wanderers boss signed West Ham youngster Josh Cullen at former club Bradford City in 2015/16.
There were few more inspired signings in League One last season than Bradford’s season-long loan swoop for Josh Cullen.
The West Ham-owned midfielder was an all-action presence in The Bantams midfield, making 40 Championship appearances as they ended the season suffering play-off final heartbreak against Millwall.
That was Cullen’s second successive season at Valley Parade. And while Stuart McCall got the best out of the 21-year-old, former Bradford boss Phil Parkinson is more than aware of his precocious talents.
West Ham starlet Josh Cullen
“I’m delighted we’ve agreed that with West Ham,” Parkinson told the BBC in March 2016 after extending Cullen’s loan until the end of the campaign. “He’s a winner”
Therefore, it’s perhaps little surprise that Parkinson is attempting to set up a reunion at current club Bolton Wanderers next season. The Bolton News claims that Cullen, who the Trotters boss attempted to sign last summer, is seen as an astute replacement for Jay Spearing if the out-of-contract midfielder cannot agree a new deal.
However, despite making just one Premier League appearance for West Ham, Cullen has been tipped to fight for a regular spot in Slaven Bilic’s squad next season.
Double deal?
Therefore, the report adds that Bolton will be forced to wait and see whether The Hammers are willing to farm the Republic of Ireland youngster out again this summer.
However, it appears that Bolton have a much more realistic chance of signing his fellow West Ham starlet Reece Burke. The youngster has also worked with Parkinson before, winning Bradford’s Player of the Year award aged just 19 after a spending the 2015/16 season on loan in Lancashire.
West Ham’s Reece Burke has a big future ahead of him
And the Premier League club have indicated that they will let him leave on a temporary deal this summer.
Bolton look set to benefit from Parky’s connections.
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