Wanderers Miss Out On Juanfran

By Mark Heys
August 5 2005

Bolton Wanderers have missed out on the loan signing of Spanish full back Juanfran due to a hitch. The Besiktas defender seemed all set for a move to the Reebok Stadium last week, but the deal has since ran into trouble over wage demands.

Trotters boss Sam Allardyce was confident of landing the former Celta Vigo player for the year, but like with so many of his targets this summer he is finding it increasingly hard to push through any deals to improve his current squad ahead of one of their most important seasons ever.

Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam are casting a keen eye over the Juanfran developments and could now be poised to make a bid in the near future. Ajax technical director Martin Van Geel said that there had been interest in Juanfran but he was just one of many possibilities.

"He is one of the left backs which we have been offered, We are still in the phase where we are looking and searching. He is on our list, nothing more, nothing less."