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Xavier Amaechi had planned to follow the same continental path as Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham – but admits he has blown some way off course.
The winger made a £2.3million move from Arsenal to Hamburg just over two years ago but failed to break into the first team, making just one start in Germany during a loan spell with Karlsruhe.
In the summer he took a huge pay cut to force a loan move to Wanderers but then suffered more misfortune after breaking a bone in his foot during a pre-season friendly against Preston North End.
Now fit again, Amaechi hopes he will finally get a chance to play regular football after a difficult couple of years. And though Hamburg will have the final say on whether he can remain at Bolton beyond January, the former England Youth star is certainly open to a long stay in League One.
“It is nice to be back in England,” he told The Bolton News. “I see my family more, friends, my wellbeing is better because in Germany I wasn’t playing.
“I learned a lot from being there, I was living on my own, so mentally I have come back to England stronger than I ever was. Now I have tunnel vision, I want to focus.
“I love it at Bolton. I don’t know what is going to happen with my parent club and the loan beyond January but, yeah, I am focussed on the present. I don’t want to look ahead too much but I am happy right now.
“Discussions will be club to club, but I am a player, I have a voice, and I will put in what I want – but at the end of the day, they make the decision.”
When Amaechi left English shores, he was regarded as one of the country’s leading young talents – reportedly turning down the offer of an extended contract with Arsenal and overtures from some of Europe’s leading lights like Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.
But even though he picked up just a handful of appearances in the German second flight, the 20-year-old does not regret his decision and would never put another young player off making the move abroad.
“It is different for everyone,” he said. “You see English players going to different countries. Sancho probably started it for the English players but I had a picture in my head of what I wanted to do but it didn’t work out in the first two years. That doesn’t mean my career is over, everyone has their own path.
“I could have stayed in the bubble but I wanted to get out of my comfort zone. I learned a new language, so I can speak a bit of German now, and it is all good for life.
“It isn’t about going somewhere that you’ll grow up. It is about going somewhere you can play. My sole purpose going to Hamburg was to play football because at Arsenal I didn’t feel like it was the right place for me to break in and get those minutes.”
Settling in Germany wasn’t helped by the global pandemic.
“It was crazy because lockdown in Germany was quite strict,” he said. “It is all part of life, you live and you learn. You come out stronger, mentally.”
After Wanderers gained promotion from League Two last season they pursued Amaechi – who had been on Chris Markham’s radar via his work with England – as one of their marquee signings.
His lack of game time in Germany meant it was a slow start in pre-season but just as Amaechi seemed to be finding some match sharpness, he limped out of the game at Leyland and ended up needing surgery to repair a fractured metatarsal.
Bolton had to move into the transfer market again, eventually signing Elias Kachunga, and as they negotiated the early months of the campaign, Amaechi had to work hard in rehabilitation to return for a fanbase that had never really seen him play.
“The injury just summed my last two years up!” he shrugged.
“I have turned a corner and now I am just looking forward.
“It has been frustrating, a long time coming. But a shout to the physios, everyone at the club worked really hard and helped me a lot. I have come back stronger than ever.
“The next few games now I have to stay fit and healthy.”
Gradually moving from the treatment room, the gym and finally towards full training, Amaechi has been able to feel part of a team at Wanderers.
After scoring a goal in his first start for the club against Cheltenham on Saturday, he now hopes to make the most of his time in Bolton.
“I am loving it,” he said of his time at the club. “When I was injured I wasn’t with the boys every day but since I have been back the last few weeks I have gelled even more. There is a strong bond there.
“When things weren’t going well we stayed positive. We are going in the right direction and if we stay strong then the results will come.
“There are a lot of players with quality in here and I am one of the younger ones in the team, so I always learn every day.”
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