Sam To Strike Before World Cup

By Mark Heys
April 4 2006

Wanderers cheif Sam Allardyce hopes to be making some new additions to his squad well before the start of this years World Cup....

In seasons gone by the Bolton manager has always been keen to do his transfer business in the early part of pre-season but more often than not he has often had to wait until the new season is underway.

However, this year Allardyce is hoping to be the early bird and has earmarked five new faces with the emphasis concentrated firmly on younger players or players with a degree of potential.

He knows the World Cup will pose a problem as far as conducting any transfer business goes hence the reason why he would like to move quickly in his pursuit of new blood.


"Ideally, I would like to bring in four to five players. During the World Cup it will be a waste of time trying to do any business. As soon as the World Cup ends, it's back into pre-season and most of the players will be fixed up and those that are not you will see their prices inflated."

"It is a difficult situation for us and to get the best deal we will try to make the most of our signings before the World Cup starts.

"Historically, we have waited until the death to bring in the players we need, which tend to be cheaper. That might not be the case this year, because we have a major tournament cutting across pre-season.

"Any players performing well in the World Cup that are available could prove to be too expensive for us. We have earmarked our recruits and will be working hard to bring in the players we need to strengthen the squad for next season."

Versatile midfielder Idan Tal is one player who is already on his way to the Reebok Stadium having agreed a pre-contract move from Israeli champions Maccabi Haifa last month.