IAN Evatt is backing Liverpool talent Calvin Ramsay to thrive in the Wanderers finishing school.

Wanderers turned heads in League One as they completed a stunning loan deal to sign the Scotland international full-back on loan for the rest of the season, ahead of reported interest from Championship giants Leeds United and Southampton.

Both Ramsay and fellow wing-back Nat Ogbeta – signed at the weekend on loan from Swansea City – are available for the Bristol Street Motors Trophy quarter-final at Blackpool.

And Evatt is excited by the prospect of working with the two young wing-backs.

“Calvin will be available, which is a positive, Nathanael will also be available, so that bolsters the squad,” he told The Bolton News. “They are both young, exciting players who fit the mould that we want to recruit. They are progressive types who perhaps haven’t been getting enough football at their parent clubs and want to come here to show what they can do.”

Ramsay went on loan to Preston North End in the Championship at the start of the season but suffered a nasty bout of Covid and also picked up a knee injury, which restricted him to just two league games.

Wanderers are confident his fitness issues were only temporary, however, and they are keen to give him the same platform as they did last season for Conor Bradley, who is now firmly in the first team picture at Anfield.

“That is what we have said to Calvin – we haven’t had to sell the club much to Liverpool but the player himself had a lot of options,” Evatt told us.

“It obviously helps that we can go back to Conor’s time here and showcase what we did for him. He is doing a pretty good job of doing that himself, to be honest.

“And again, a bit like with Nathan Baxter and James Trafford over the summer, that is where the comparisons have to stop. We don’t want to pile pressure on him, we want him to come here and enjoy playing football. We know what he is capable of doing and Liverpool have seen that by spending what they did on him.

“We want him to get into a rhythm, play with confidence, enjoy his time here and if he does that then I have no doubt he will have a huge impact on what we do in the second half of the season.”

Wanderers now want to add another striker before Thursday’s transfer deadline, with Bristol Rovers star Aaron Collins – the current League One player of the year – top of their list.

Evatt also maintains an interest in Blackburn Rovers front man Niall Ennis but hinted yesterday that he would make another bid for the £1m rated Collins after having an offer of around £600,000 turned down.

“I don’t really like to speak about other people’s players and at the moment Aaron is still a Bristol Rovers player,” he said.

“We made an offer last week that was rejected and we will now review our options. That is where it is at, and where it will stay.

“We want to bring one more in and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess which position group they are in. But after that we are more than comfortable with what we have got.”