Ian Evatt believes Amadou Bakayoko's debut against Longridge Town was evidence why Bolton Wanderers signed the forward and pinpointed what he adds to the team that is different to talisman Eoin Doyle.
The 25-year-old has signed a two-year deal with Wanderers after leaving Coventry City and made his first appearance in a Bolton shirt in yesterday's pre-season win over the Ridge.
Wanderers fell behind in the first half as Arek Pociask headed the non-league side in front.
READ MORE: Bolton Wanderers player ratings against Longridge Town: debutants impress and Afolayan great
Bolton trailed at half-time but their pressure in the second half told when Harry Brockbank slotted home from close range after good work from Oladapo Afolayan.
Bakayoko then got his first goal in a Wanderers shirt and put Bolton in front on his debut for the club after heading home Declan John's cross, before, Ronan Darcy scored the third on the stroke of full-time.
Wanderers boss Evatt believes the performance of the attacker in the friendly was evidence of why Bolton made the move for Bakayoko and feels he adds something different to Doyle, who was the club's top scorer last season.
He said: “That’s why we’ve brought him in. You can all see the difference from Eoin, who is a clinical penalty box striker.
"Baka gives us pace, power and aggression, so he offers something different. A couple of times second half he was in it and on it in a flash.
"He hurries defenders, he makes it difficult for them, and he just needs to be a bit more clinical in front of goal, but we’ll work with him and I’m sure he’ll take those chances.”
Wanderers played in front of the club's supporters for the first time since mid-March of 2020 against Burton Albion, with more than 600 fans at the Mike Riding Ground.
And Evatt was happy to be playing in front of fans once again, joking even with the occasional rogue call from the crowd.
He said: “It was great. Obviously you hear a couple of rogue shouts - ‘what are you doing?’ when you’re 1-0 down and I’m thinking ‘give me a break!’. But that’s football, it’s funny, it’s laughable.
"You’ve got lads climbing through mounds of grass from the cricket ground to try and get in because they didn’t have tickets. It’s what football is all about really.
"It’s great to see smiles on people’s faces and the players will appreciate that.”
