BBM in swoop for Gunner Bola
BRIAN Barry-Murphy wanted a new addition to his squad in time for today’s game against Accrington Stanley – and the Dale manager got his man with the signing of Tolaji Bola.
The highly-rated 21-year-old left-back joined Dale on loan from Arsenal until January.
Dale had Rhys Norrington-Davies last season in the left-back role and he proved a great success – replacing him was always going to be difficult.
But BBM has had Bola in his sights for a while and the youngster goes straight into the squad which will make the short trip to the Wham Stadium this afternoon to face John Coleman’s men.
Bola, an England youth international, came through the Academy ranks at the Premier League side and is a regular for the Gunners’ Under-23s.
He has also been involved in several of the first team’s matchday squads.
He said: “I’m pleased to be here and can’t wait to get going.
“There has been talks for a couple of weeks and I’m just happy it got over the line and I can start the hard work.
“I’ve spoken a lot with Brian Barry-Murphy and the coaching staff. It’s really good to hear his ideas and I think we can have a successful season this year.”
On the signing, the Dale boss said: “Tolaji was one of our high priority signings in terms of that position in the squad.
!We’re very pleased that we’ve managed to acquire him at such a late stage in the window.
“He’s a very good addition to the squad and a continuation, I suppose, of where we were last season with Rhys NorringtonDavies.
“They’re not the exact same player, but we have a specific profile of what we want for that position and Tolaji definitely fits that bill.”
Bola will wear number three during his time at the Crown Oil Arena.
Should Bola make his Dale debut today, he could come up against two youngsters from the Chelsea Academy. Tariq Uwakwe has made a big impression in the early days of his loan spell, scoring four goals so far, while Jon Russell came in to bolster Coleman’s squad last week.