Tony Warner, the former Liverpool and Fulham player, who was announced as a player cum goalkeeping coach for NorthEast United for the ensuing Indian Super League (ISL) season, has joined the coaching staff of Bolton Wanderers.
The 41-year-old, who had a stint at Bolton as a coach last season, has emerged as a frontrunner to be their next goalkeeping coach after Lee Turner parted ways with the club last week to join Charlton Athletic.
Neil Lennon, the manager of the side, has confirmed that Warner has come back to the club on a temporary basis and will be given a long-term role if Ben Amos, who has joined the club from Manchester United this summer, is comfortable working with him.
“Tony has come up from the academy, so we’ve given him a sort of trial period and see how it goes,” Lennon told The Bolton News .
“It boils down to the comfort Ben (Amos) has, it will be important. We may look for a more experienced coach but Ben will have a say in it as well,” he added.
However, Lennon acknowledged that Tony’s contract with the Indian franchise can be a potential roadblock.
“Tony has still got that offer [from India] on the table – so we’ll see how things pan out. Ben has only had a couple of days working with him so far, so we’ll have to make a decision for Tony and for Ben on that one in the next week or so,” told the coach who was Bengaluru FC coach Ashley Westwood’s teammate at Crewe Alexandra.
With the Championship due to start in 15 days, the English club could possibly rope in Tony Warner which shall certainly cast a doubt over his availability for the second season of the ISL.