Conor Bradley's upcoming season out on loan at Bolton Wanderers could be the making of the teenager and the Liverpool loanee could 'thrive' Ian Evatt's side.
That's the view of former Northern Ireland international Gareth McAuley. The 18-year-old right-back has joined Wanderers for the upcoming season in League One. in what will be the first spell away from Anfield for the young defender.
Bradley hails from Northern Ireland and has eight caps for his country at senior level. He was not part of the Wanderers squad which travelled to Portugal for a pre-season training camp but will link up with his new team-mates today.
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The right-back has also played five times for Jurgen Klopp's side across the Champions League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup. All of these appearances came last season, but will now spend the upcoming campaign out on loan at Wanderers.
Bradley was a long-term target for Evatt and Wanderers, with the Whites having made him their number one target in January, but Liverpool were unwilling to let him out on loan at that time. The move has become a reality now and the teenager is poised for a busy campaign out in League One.
Retired West Bromwich Albion defender McAuley has hailed the move for Bradley and believes it is a 'terrific move' for him. He feels the teenager will 'thrive' at Bolton and will grow as both a player and a person over the next 12 months.
Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, McAuley said: "A season at Bolton Wanderers could be the making of Conor Bradley. It's a terrific move for the young Northern Ireland full-back.
"He'll get regular first-team football at a decent level, and with a team who should be battling for promotion. He'll endure real-life experiences in League One having been wrapped up in cotton wool at Anfield.
"It's exactly what he needs at 18 years of age and, from all the reports I've received on the kid and having watched him play, I think he'll thrive at Bolton.
"He has a terrific attitude, a will to win and, as Northern Ireland fans know only too well, he's not afraid of a strong, crunching tackle. Conor needed to get away from Under-23 football and have his eyes opened to "men's football". Some of our young lads have waited too long for the chance to go out on loan and further their development.
"But Conor will now have Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday games rather than a match once a week, as he did at Liverpool, while he will be in a dressing room with big characters and players who rely heavily on win bonuses. As well as improving Conor as a player in a tough and uncompromising League, it will allow him to grow as a person off the pitch.
"The fact he has agreed his loan so early in the summer will help him have a good, strong pre-season with Bolton and he should easily integrate into Ian Evatt's team. Ian, I believe, did his coaching badges with the Irish FA so no doubt he has been keeping a watching brief on Conor during his international displays. Conor can only benefit from going to Bolton."
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