He spent half his life at Chelsea, played non-league, Scottish and Championship football, and achieved the rare feat as a goalkeeper of registering 100 senior games as a teenager.
Nathan Baxter arrives at Watford having spent the last two seasons at Bolton Wanderers, clocking up more than 70 appearances including at Wembley in the 2024 League One Play-Off Final.
To get a bit more insight into the Hornets’ latest signing, we asked Marc Iles, chief football writer at The Bolton News, a few questions . . .
Were you surprised he was allowed to leave at the end of his contract?
MI: “Not really. He'd voiced his desire to stay at Bolton a month before the end of the season when he came back in as number one ahead of Luke Southwood, but when he was dropped again a couple of games before the end, we knew the writing was on the wall.”
It looks like when he was fit, he played, during the first season at Bolton?
MI: “Definitely. Ian Evatt had 100 per cent faith in him, and he was in excellent form during the first half of last season.
“When he picked up a wrist injury at the start of the year, the impact on the club's form was quite clear.
“When they had missed out in the play-off final, the chairman (Sharon Brittan) claimed that the unfortunate timing of Baxter's injury had basically cost them automatic promotion.”
What led Evatt to drop him this season?
MI: “A couple of factors. The first was confidence. I think Baxter shouldered a lot after the Wembley defeat against Oxford United in May and when things started to turn sour, he seemed to suffer more than most.
“He is a fine shot-stopper, technically a very good keeper, but if there is a weakness it is probably with his distribution.
“Evatt slavishly demanded possession football and when Baxter's part in the build-up wasn't spot-on, he seemed to get more of the criticism.”
Was he the fall guy for the form of the team in the lead-up to Evatt's sacking?
MI: “Never the main target. I think most Bolton fans would say the defensive mistakes ahead of him and the total reliance on one style of football/formation was more of an issue than the goalkeeping at the time.
“Things got really toxic after the defeat at Rotherham United in January and Evatt probably felt he needed to change anything just to get a break.”
What led to Baxter coming back into the team in March?
MI: “Luke Southwood had been steady during the first few weeks for Steven Schumacher but apparently once he'd looked at the various stats, delved into the complex worlds of expected saves and the like, he felt like Baxter would offer the safer option. For most onlookers, there wasn't a lot in it.”
He kept a couple of clean sheets when he was reinstalled - was his form good?
MI: “He made some really eye-catching saves, looked confident again, and as I mentioned earlier, he said he wanted to stay at Bolton Wanderers.
“For the eight-game spell he returned, however, they won only twice, and we were quickly back to square one with him.”
He wasn't in the team for the last couple of games, and in the three matches before that Bolton conceded 10. Was he at fault?
MI: “Defensively, Bolton were all over the place. Baxter did make errors - and one dreadful bit of positioning led to a goal for Lincoln City's Reeco Hackett.
Caught the keeper napping 😅
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) April 22, 2025
Take a bow, Reeco Hackett 👏#ITVFootball | @LincolnCity_FC pic.twitter.com/1kDt34vo62
“It would be harsh to say he was at fault for most of them, though. The team conceded 70 goals this season and they haven't been anywhere near solid enough to challenge for promotion.”
Overall, how would describe his goalkeeping style?
MI: “Technically very strong, good hands, great shot-stopper.
“Communication seems sound and he has a decent command of his area considering he isn't the biggest of keepers. Kicking and throwing are the weaknesses, in my humble opinion.”
Do you think he's coming here expecting to be the No.2 keeper?
MI: “He has played Championship football before for Hull City and probably would have stayed there had it not been for injury.
“If he can get back up to the sort of form he was in at Bolton last season, then I can see him making a good case for himself.
“At this moment in time, he has to be realistic and accept he is part of a queue.”
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