Max Conway

Conway came through Bolton's own academy but had to leave the club to find his level. He went out on loan through non league football and then into League Two, where he barely missed a match all year and was recognised as one of the better young defenders there. That reliability, appearing week after week without setback, is precisely what a defender needs to prove before a manager trusts him at home.

The step up into regular first team football at Bolton is still a considerable jump, since the level of opponent rises sharply from where he proved himself. Academy players who impress out on loan do not always repeat that impact straight back at a parent club, where competition for a shirt is fiercest. Watch whether he starts nailing down a regular run in the side, because that is the real marker of a defender who has genuinely arrived.