The 19-year-old spent last term on loan with fellow League One side Reading, where he made ten league appearances and netted three goals.
Ballard’s time at the Select Car Leasing Stadium was interrupted by injury last November when he snapped his patella tendon in the Royals’ away game against Wycombe, prematurely ending his season in a painful way.
Now recovered, the League One trio are interested in temporarily bringing him back to the third tier, according to journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon, and will now battle for his services to try and hand the starlet more first-team football.
Dom Ballard showed League One promise for Reading FC last season
Despite only managing 12 appearances at Reading in all competitions last term, before injury ruled him out for the rest of the campaign, it was enough time to show how promising Ballard is.
The teenager collected five goals and two assists during those outings, returning just over one goal involvement every two games.
That relatively short look at Ballard in senior football has understandably left many – particularly Huddersfield, Bolton and Wycombe – wondering what more could be to come from the teenager with a full season to settle in.
It is also notable that Ballard managed this in his first consistent spell outside youth football, for a team in Reading that faced a difficult campaign for large parts of last season amid financial concerns.
In a more settled environment, likely competing higher up the table and hopefully free of injury concerns, Ballard could become a force in the third tier this time around.
At least two of the three, namely Huddersfield and Bolton, who are chasing Ballard’s signature will have their eyes firmly on promotion this season.
Wycombe earned a respectable 10th-placed finish last season and ended the season very strongly, so it wouldn’t be unrealistic for them to have ambitions of their own.
What is almost certain, therefore, is that Ballard would be taking on a higher-level challenge than what he found at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Though they eventually earned a relatively comfortable survival, the Royals spent much of last season looking down the table rather than up. The England U19 international can be sure the ambition will feel very different at any of the three interested clubs next season.
Dom Ballard needs to stay injury-free amid Bolton, Huddersfield & Wycombe interest
Although Ballard did enough to create intrigue around what he could be capable of last season, his contributions to the senior game are still a tiny sample size, meaning there is little in the way of tangible results to point to.
Based on that small sample, however, the young forward looks ready to address that issue and will hope to remain free from injury in this upcoming campaign to get a chance to properly show what he’s about.
Due to their status as a recently relegated Championship side, and being one of the favourites for promotion next term, Nixon reports that the Terriers hope to be front of the queue for Ballard’s next temporary switch.
However, Bolton will likely have something to say about that. They proved to be a force at this level last season and only stumbled at the last hurdle last season against Oxford United in the League One play-off final. They will hope to take that final step this time around having come close in the last two seasons.
What could make the Trotters a more attractive landing spot for Ballard is the recent departure of striker Jon Dadi Bodvarsson. He appeared 36 times in the league last season, scoring four goals and registering two assists. That’s not the most prolific record for the young Saints man to try and better, and Bodvarsson’s significant number of appearances last term will need replacing, something Bolton are yet to do.
The Terriers may marginally be the higher-ranked side at present, but the trajectory and squad gaps at the Toughsheet Community Stadium could give Ballard pause for thought.
Against that backdrop, it would represent a major coup if Wycombe were able to lure him away from two strong competitors, and would be a significant display of their ambitions for next season.
There’s a lot to decide for Ballard and his parent club, but a solid – and full – season at any of the trio will serve to be a major step in the promising striker’s budding career.
Leave a Reply