Dougie Freedman on the possibility of renewing the left-back's loan deal in the New Year
Stephen Warnock‘s loan deal is set to expire after this weekend’s fixture with Peterborough, but manager Dougie Freedman has expressed his interest in having the defender back in the New Year.
Bolton signed Warnock on a three-month loan deal from Aston Villa at the end of September, and he will rejoin his parent club after Wanderers’ trip to London Road on Saturday.
The full-back has played an integral part in the Whites’ Championship campaign, making 14 league appearances, and Freedman now wants to try and extend the defender’s stay at the Reebok in January.
“The ball is firmly in Stephen’s court and if he expresses any interested in staying then we will certainly look at it,” Freedman explained in his pre-match press conference. “Until that time we are kind of snookered. He is a loaned player and he will go back to Villa after Saturday.
“Stephen has done fantastically well for us, we feel that in and around the place and on the pitch that he has been fantastic and we would like to look at that situation if Stephen would.
“We have said to Stephen that he needs to be comfortable with his decision, see if he has enjoyed it and he will go away and think about it over the next couple of weeks.
“I am sure he will have a nice Christmas and he will let us know how he is feeling in January. If he tells us that it is all positive then we will go to the board and try to explain why we should do something.”