Jack Bonham

Bonham spent years waiting his turn behind other keepers before a settled run finally arrived. Once it did, he held onto the gloves for spell after spell, first at Gillingham and then at Stoke City, trusted to be their first choice for long stretches at a time. That kind of staying power rarely happens by accident, and it points to a goalkeeper whose consistency matters more than flash. He is the sort of keeper a manager builds a defence around rather than worries about.

The question at Bolton is whether that reliability carries over to a tougher level, since every step in his career came after he waited patiently for his chance rather than arriving as the finished article. Watch how he deals with crosses into a busier, more physical box than before, because that battle usually decides whether a steady goalkeeper copes with the step up.