Sam Frustrated In Player Search

By Mark Heys
July 8 2005

Bolton manager Sam Allardyce is finding it hard to attract new players to the UEFA Cup hopefuls. A number of targets have snubbed moves to the Reebok Stadium and this has understandably frustrated the Whites cheif.

Allardyce has been frustrated in his attempts to add fresh blood to the Wanderers squad, in a summer which has seen only El-Hadji Diouf and Ali Al-Habsi signing up for the Trotters so far.

African duo Collins Mbesuma and Abdoulaye Diange-Faye are set to join up with Bolton for training next week but Allardyce revealed that he has already been snubbed by a number of targets, including Liverpool's experienced midfielder Dietmar Hamann and the one time Chelsea forward Mikael Forssell, now of Birmingham City.

"This summer has been my worst summer because we have had constant knock-backs, I've got more money to spend than I have ever had, but I need eight new players before the start of the season." Allardyce stated today

"We missed out on Dietmar Hamann who decided to stay at Liverpool, Mikael Forssell decided to turn us down and join Birmingham,"

Long time target Olivier Dacourt also seems to be moving elsewhere, as does Juventus defender Igor Tudor thus capping off a summer of misery for the Lancashire outfit.

Ex-Everton and Leeds battler Dacourt has been a prime target over the summer but a transfer embargo slapped on his club A.S Roma has meant that a potential deal has been scuppered. Croatian centre half Tudor on the other hand is asking astronomical wages which are out of Bolton's budget.

"It looks like we are gong to miss out on Roma's Olivier Dacourt because he will probably join another club elsewhere in Europe.

"I even tried to bring in Juventus defender Igor Tudor but we can't meet his demands - he would have been a major signing for us.

"I may have to go down the line of bringing in players on trial and giving them a chance in Japan and Thailand."