Jon Dadi Bodvarsson vs Victor Adeboyejo - The Deadly Duo Debate
Since the signing of Victor Adeboyejo in January 2023, Bolton fans have debated who should partner Dion Charles in the front two. Jon Dadi Bodvarsson did have that place nailed down but several injuries have left him struggling for playing time. However, both are fully fit and it is an important part of the season, so who should be starting games?
Jon Dadi Bodvarsson
Bodvarsson joined the Wanderers in January 2022 from Millwall and has since become a fan favourite. Interestingly, he signed for Bolton just 19 days after Dion Charles but his struggle for fitness has really set him back.
In total, Bodvarsson missed 27 games for Bolton last season with two separate injuries (hamstring and ankle). As he looked to mount his comeback to the first team in pre season, he was injured again against Salford City.
Before his injury, he was a regular player in the side and scored 7 goals and 2 assists in the 21/22 in 10 starts (21 total appearances).
Victor Adeboyejo
Adeboyejo is a rather different story, of course joining the club 1 year later, and not suffering the same injury frustrations. However, many have called for Adeboyejo to be dropped and Bodvarsson to be given a run of games, but why?
Last season Adeboyejo scored just 3 league goals for Bolton, despite being the favoured striking partner for Dion Charles. This left a lot of fans frustrated and is a key reason why social media has called for Bodvarsson to return.
This season has been significantly more impressive though, Adeboyejo has scored 5 goals and registered 1 assist in the league this season, including a hat-rick against Fleetwood Town. Is this enough to be demanding a starting spot week in, week out?
Who is better for Dion Charles?
As the newly crowned stat man, I have conducted the research on who is the better partner statistically for Dion Charles, between Victor Adeboyejo and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson. So, who should be starting?
Jon Dadi Bodvarsson has started 16 games with Dion Charles, and scored 6 goals while starting with him. However, Dion Charles has only scored 4 goals when starting with Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, a combined 10 goals from 16 starts for a striker pairing is worryingly low. The stats show that they also do not combine well, Charles has registered just 1 assist for Bodvarsson but Jon Dadi hasn't registered an assist for Charles.
On the other hand, Adeboyejo has started 20 games alongside Dion Charles and has scored 7 goals in those games. Charles has also scored 7 goals when starting with Victor but hasn't registered an assist for him, Adeboyejo has assisted Charles once.
As you can see, Adeboyejo probably edges this debate (bosting a 60% win rate with Charles, compared to 56% for Bodvarsson and Charles) however, these statistics should be better. Perhaps, with a striker like Dion Charles, Bolton would function better with 2 creators behind him or a more selfless strike partner. This could be the long term vision with Dan Nlundulu, who isn't the best ball striker but does have the ability to hold up the ball.
Full Stat Breakdown
