Former Bolton boss Owen Coyle explained why he reluctantly agreed to let new Celtic midfielder and former Wanderers youngster Aaron Mooy leave the Whites.
The 31-year-old came through the youth team ranks at Wanderers but never made a first team appearance for the club. He was released in 2010 after a contract extension was declined.
The Australian international's club career has since taken him to St Mirren, Western Sydney Wanderers, Melbourne City, Manchester CIty, Huddersfield Town, Brighton & Hove Albion and Shanghai Port. He has signed for Scottish giants Celtic this summer on a two-year contract.
READ MORE: 'Real handful' - Ex-Manchester United player earning rave reviews at Bolton Wanderers after transfer
Coyle was boss at Wanderers towards the conclusion of Mooy's time at the club. The midfielder moved to St Mirren that summer as he opted to leave Wanderers despite the club being keen to keep him.
Coyle explained that the likes of Johan Elmander, Martin Petrov and Lee Chung-Yong stood in Mooy's way of being handed game time at Wanderers and Wanderers 'reluctantly' agreed to let the midfielder go. But Coyle is pleased to see how Mooy has developed as a player since then and feels playing for a club as big as Celtic will be 'good for him'.
Speaking to the Scottish Sun, Coyle said: “The first thing I’d say about Aaron is that he’s a super-talented lad with fantastic ability. When he was at Bolton he was a No 10 and we had to impress upon him he needed to work a bit harder.
“Nobody ever doubted his ability on the ball, he just needed to do more when he wasn’t in possession. Him and Michael O’Halloran, who was in our youth system, were good pals at Bolton — and the pair of them were real talents.
“I was always keen to give young players their chance and I gave Michael his debut. But the difficulty was we had Johan Elmander, Martin Petrov and Lee Chung-Yong in the side, so opportunities were difficult to come by.
“Aaron’s contract came to an end and we’d have liked him to stay but his agent wanted him to go somewhere he’d play. We reluctantly agreed to let him go.
“He was one of those boys that you always felt would have a good career in the game. But it was a case where he had the talent and maybe the penny dropped when he went back to Australia.
“He went to St Mirren and did OK but maybe it was when he found himself back there he realised how hard he needed to work if he was going to have a good career at the top level.
“Ability will take you so far but, once he worked on the industry of his game, he was able to move to another level. He probably matured a bit and all credit to him for that. He caught the attention of Manchester City and they brought him back over to England.
“He went on loan to Huddersfield and was a big player in helping them into the Premier League for the first time. After that, he never looked back.
“All credit to him because he’s had a good career and I can certainly understand why Ange has taken him to Celtic. I’m pleased for him because playing for a club of Celtic’s stature will be good for him.”
Don't miss a thing from the club you love! For all the latest updates on Wanderers , sign up to our free newsletter packed with all the latest news here.
READ NEXT:
