The impending departure of defender Mark Beevers, who was confirmed as a Peterborough United player this morning, means that his defensive partnership with David Wheater, which became known as ‘Wheavers,’ has come to an end.
The pair first linked up at the start of the 2016/17 season when Mark Beevers signed for Bolton on a free transfer from Millwall and joined Wheater, who has been at the club since 2011, at the heart of the defence.
Wanderers’ new-look defence made a solid start in League One, earning 20 clean sheets in all competitions during the season.
Both Wheater and Beevers helped contribute in attack as well. Beevers notched an impressive seven league goals while Wheater bagged an incredible nine.
The Wheavers partnership continued into the 2017/18 Championship campaign too. The duo helped Wanderers stave off relegation, with David Wheater grabbing a crucial goal in the miraculous final-day win over Nottingham Forest.
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This season however, the partnership has been disrupted throughout the campaign.
Both Beevers and Wheater picked up several injuries during the season and with increased competition for places, thanks to the arrival of Jack Hobbs and Marc Wilson, the Wheavers partnership wasn’t able to fight off relegation for a second time.
Beevers joins Josh Vela and Pawel Olkowski in heading for the door but it is not known whether Wheater will follow suit with the defender out of contract as well.
It’ll be a huge shame to see Wanderers in League One without the defensive duo who so capably tamed the division in 2016/17 but the departure of Beevers means that Bolton can focus on rebuilding the squad, hopefully with younger players in mind.
