Bolton Wanderers Departures After Promotion: Johnston and Others Leave
The image is still fresh. George Johnston, armband tight around his sleeve, lifting Bolton Wanderers back into the Championship under the Wembley arch. Five days later, he’s walking away.
Bolton’s longest-serving current player will leave the club this summer, one of a cluster of departures announced as Steven Schumacher begins the hard work of reshaping a promoted squad for the second tier.
Captain on Sunday, gone by summer
Johnston, 27, has been a constant through Bolton’s climb, arriving five years ago and growing into the heartbeat of the back line. The former Liverpool academy defender, who also spent time at Feyenoord, made 188 appearances for Wanderers and captained the side in Sunday’s League One play-off final win over Stockport.
He leaves with a promotion medal and a sizeable imprint on the club’s modern story, but no contract extension.
The clear-out doesn’t stop with the captain.
Osei-Tutu and Dempsey also move on
Right-back Jordi Osei-Tutu, another member of that Wembley starting XI, is also heading out. The 27-year-old, signed from German side Bochum in August 2024, made 80 appearances across two seasons and grew into a reliable presence on the flank. His time ends just as the club returns to the Championship.
Kyle Dempsey, who watched the final from the bench as an unused substitute, has been released as well. So too has Carlos Mendes Gomes, who spent most of the 2025-26 campaign on loan at Exeter City. Both depart with Bolton looking upwards, but without a place for them in the next phase.
These are not fringe decisions around the edges of the squad. They are deliberate cuts as Schumacher trims and retools for a higher level.
Loan brigade heads back, gaps appear
Promotion often exposes the scaffolding behind a successful season. At Bolton, much of that scaffolding came in the form of loan players.
- Johnny Kenny
- Rob Apter
- Ibrahim Cissoko
- Marcus Forss
- Corey Blackett-Taylor
- Mason Burstow
- Amario Cozier-Duberry
will all return to their parent clubs. Seven players, seven holes to plug in a squad that must now withstand the grind of the Championship.
Schumacher, who has already spoken of the need to be competitive rather than just grateful to be there, faces a demanding summer. Numbers are dropping quickly; quality will have to rise just as fast.
Schon seals permanent exit
There is another confirmed departure, this one already effectively written over the past year.
Szabi Schon has completed a permanent move to Hungarian champions ETO FC Gyor after two years on Bolton’s books. The 25-year-old Hungary midfielder made 44 appearances for Wanderers but spent last season on loan at Gyor, who have now triggered their option to sign him outright.
It’s a move that tidies up the edges of the squad list, but it also underlines the scale of the turnover.
Promotion usually brings celebration, and Bolton have had that in full measure. Now comes the harder part: replacing a captain, rebuilding a defence, filling the gaps left by a departing loan core, and doing it all quickly enough to hit the Championship running rather than chasing from behind.
