da heads bet： Premier League outfit Bolton have announced the signing of Middlesbrough defender David Wheater.The deal represents Bolton’s first signing of the January transfer window and shores up the defence after manager Owen Coyle allowed veteran Andy O’Brien to join Championship high-flyers Leeds United on a permanent deal earlier this month.
da bwin： The 23-year-old is a former England under-21 International and has spent seven years at Middlesbrough, making almost 150 appearances, several of which were in the Premier League with the Riverside Stadium outfit.
Wheater’s new boss declared the signing a win for Bolton as they beat off several other clubs in the race to land the towering defender.
“First and foremost we are absolutely delighted to get a player of David’s quality into Bolton,” Coyle said.
“The hunger that he has shown in wanting to come to the football club has been first class. There has been a lot of competition for his signature and again this shows a willingness on our behalf to invest in young players.”
“The club have parted with good money to secure the services of a very talented player who has been involved with England squads before.”
“We want him to be involved at that level again and to do that he will have to play well for Bolton Wanderers, however he has arrived here with a real desire to achieve that.”
“He has a great character as well. He will integrate into the group straight away and it all adds to the fantastic spirit that we have within the squad.”
Wheater expressed his delight at signing for Bolton, dubbing it an ‘easy’ decision.
“I met with the manager and we had a good chat about football,” Wheater said.
“I had a look around the facilities and it was a really easy decision to make.”
“From what I’ve seen there is a really great atmosphere at the club and a real buzz about the place and I’m looking forward to working hard and showing the manager what I can do.”