Dalby initially picked up an injury after joining the Whites but went on to become a key member of the squad, scoring 14 goals in all competitions.
One of those was a spectacular overhead kick in the play-off final against Stockport County at Wembley to help seal promotion.
“He’s a good player,” Schumacher told The Bolton News. “I think, like we saw last year, Sam is better and gets stronger with rhythm and minutes.
“He had an injury at the back end of last season and we didn’t use him in as much as we would have liked to in the closing games because of his Achilles problem.
“Then he’s had to rest that up over the summer and come back to pre-season, he says he feels fine. He’s a 6’3 centre-forward so when he’s got his back to goal, he is a handful for centre-backs.
“I’m sure he will be able to step up and take that next step into the Championship and be as equally as important to us this year as he was last year.”
Another area that will be important for Bolton this season is the midfield, and there is competition for the starting spots against Preston North End on the opening day.
Josh Sheehan has been a key player in recent seasons and Xavier Simons finished last season strongly.
David Watson has shown promising signs since his switch from Kilmarnock and Ethan Erhahon is still to return from injury.
“They’ve all got the potential to be big players. It depends how they apply themselves, Ethan when he gets back fit,” the head coach added.
“Josh Sheehan, we’ve seen in the first four pre-season games how important he’s going to be for us, and Xav is another one.
“He’s got the athleticism that you need in the Championship so he’s going to be equally as important as everybody else.
“Everyone has just got to keep at it, keep trying to learn, keep trying to improve every single day, get better and get ready to go.”
Wanderers are continuing their efforts to bolster the squad before the new campaign gets under way. Bolton have brought in six fresh faces so far this summer.
When asked if it is a difficult time for managers, he replied: “It’s busy, but it’s not in a short space of time because we’ve been having these conversations for months.
“Even before we got promoted, we talked about what areas we thought we’d need to strengthen if we were in the Championship.
“It’s not a surprise, but it’s busy because you’re constantly having meetings, you’re constantly on Zoom calls with players and trying to get your business done.
“But as I say, it’s easier said than done to just go and sign some players. It’s very difficult, we just have to take each day as it comes.
“For me, personally, just focus on what we can control which is trying to get the team as organised as possible.”
