Ethan Erhahon has completed a permanent transfer to Bolton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee.
The Scottish midfielder has made more than 100 appearances for the Imps since moving to the LNER Stadium from Scottish Premiership side St. Mirren in January 2023. He was the Fans’ Player of the Season the following campaign, with City securing a significant guaranteed transfer fee plus add-ons and an ongoing future interest.
City’s director of football Jez George said:
“Ethan is another successful example of our recruitment and player development. We invested in Ethan to bring him to the club at a young age and he contributed massively to the performance of our team in that time.
“Ethan has grown with us and provided huge value on the pitch, almost culminating in a play-off position the season before last, and has now been sold for a significant profit.
“It is the right time for Ethan to move onto his next challenge as he joins a League One heavyweight club who will expect to be challenging for promotion to the Championship.
“We wish him every success, which will only further benefit Lincoln City in the future. We continue to focus on completing the construction of our already highly competitive squad for the forthcoming season.”
I’ll be honest, while this was wholly expected, it does feel like a bit of a blow. There is a week to go until the season starts and as things stand, we feel weaker than when the last campaign finished. It’s odd, isn’t it? Nothing has happened that we didn’t expect, and yet it feels like a blow.
In terms of the fee, my understanding is that the fee does not meet the originally quoted figure. My belief was that Ethan would be our first £1m footballer, and my understanding is that while we have pocketed a substantial amount, with add-ons, the fee will only be towards the upper end of six figures.
It is disappointing in some ways. I don’t think there was ever a problem with Ethan’s attitude, nor do I think he has tried to force a move. This feels like a club-led decision based perhaps on factors fans are aware of, and perhaps some we are not. The bottom line is we have turned a profit on the player, and while we will undoubtedly miss him, we have to move on. The cold fact is, we expected this to happen. Now it has, it stings.
There is no doubt on his day, Ethan Erhahon is a cut above League One. He still has a lot to learn, ironically, something he underlined away at Bolton last season. Sadly, with the Trotters taking him, Huddersfield taking Sean and Reading taking Paudie, we’re being reminded of where we are in the food chain. It is sobering for supporters who hope for us to challenge for the top six, and while there is still opportunity for us to do that, we also have to acknowledge there are clubs out there, bigger than us, who will pay more money than us to secure talent.
As a lifelong Bolton supporter, i agree with everything you have said, we have had & will no doubt have again players that we wanted to keep but had to let go.. until a club gets to the top of the pyramid ..ie Premier League do we the feeders for the Prem get the true value of the player.. i wish you all the very best of luck in the forthcoming season..