Former Wanderers striker Shola Ameobi is backing brother Sammy to help revitalise the Whites’ season following his return from injury.
Now playing under former Bolton star Kevin Nolan at Notts County, Shola enjoyed a brief stint with the Trotters during the 2015/16 season in a year that saw them suffer relegation from the Sky Bet Championship.
Sammy moved to Macron Stadium on loan from Newcastle United the following summer, enjoying a successful half-season stint before eventually returning to the club on a permanent basis after Wanderers clinched an immediate return to the English second tier.
Sidelined with a knee injury since the end of July, Sammy made his second Whites debut as a second half substitute away at Bristol City before starting at Aston Villa shortly before the October international break.
Now with a further fortnight’s training under his belt, the popular wideman is in line to make his second home debut for Bolton against Sheffield Wednesday this weekend.
And having seen the Trotters struggle in his absence, Shola is backing his sibling to help fire Wanderers up the table.
“Technically he’s brilliant,” Shola told Sky Sports. “You can see the skill level he has. It’s immense for such a tall guy, the way he can move his feet.
“He’s coming to the stage in his career when he’s really finding himself.
“He understands what he has to do and what he is about and it has been fun to see that evolution from him.
“He’s very different to how I am! I wasn’t quite blessed with that ability.”
Shola continued: “As a young kid, it was a big pressure for him to deal with having an older brother at a club.
“He had to deal with that in his own way and I think he’s come out of that and shown what he can do now with his loan spell at Bolton last season.
“He’s really come into his own and I honestly feel if he gets a run of games, he can go do whatever he wants in the game.”