Bolton Wanderers are trying to build up Aaron Morley's work out of possession as he develops since his move from Rochdale as Ian Evatt vowed the midfielder has a bright future in the game.
The 22-year-old made the Janaury transfer switch from League Two Dale, signing a three-and-a-half year at Wanderers. He has gone on to play more than 30 times so far for Evatt's side.
Morley was a regular starter at the beginning of the campaign, scoring in the draw versus Ipswich Town and the win over Wycombe Wanderers. He started the midweek victory over Burton Albion, but it was his first League One start since the end of August and the loss on the road to Plymouth Argyle.
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Morley impressed in the win over the Brewers, particularly with his range of passing, as Amadou Bakayoko and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson completed a dramatic comeback 2-1 victory in stoppage time.
Morley is part of a hugely competitive central midfield area of the squad, with all options available to Evatt following the return to fitness of Josh Sheehan. Though the player has more than 150 appearances under his belt at the age of just 22, there is still plenty of development to come with him.
Evatt believes his out of possession work is where progression is needed and that Wanderers require different things from him compared to what was asked of him at Rochdale. But Evatt is in no doubt of Morley's quality and potential and believes he was part of a young spine of the team which emerged victorious against the Brewers.
He told the Manchester Evening News : “I think the one area of the pitch which is the hardest to select is the midfield because we’ve got some really good options in the middle of the pitch. Everyone has to remember that Aaron is a really young player, he’s played a lot of minutes and a lot of games in that young career.
“But he’s still developing. His in possession stuff is fantastic, the way he can pass, his range of passing is tremendous. We’re just trying to educate him with the out of possession against the ball stuff, which against Burton he was a lot better.
“I was really pleased with him, but that’s not his fault. Rochdale asked him to do something completely different to what we require him to do and that takes time to be educated.
“We’re still working with him, he’s a young player that’s got a really bright future. We think the world of him and Burton was a good step in the right direction.
“People forget that coming up against a team that are experienced and are going down the route of what Burton did to us, we had James Trafford who is a young player, Conor Bradley who is a young player. You’ve got George Thomason and Aaron Morley in midfield who are really young players, so these lads are being educated all the time and having that experience is really going to stand them in good stead for the future.”
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