Well hello there, blog. It’s been a while. I’ll be honest, with the end of the season and the well publicized (bitched and moaned about on Twitter) publishing problems we’ve had at the Offside, getting the motivation to write and then sit there for an hour and baby the post until it was finally up was difficult to say the least. Enough sappiness though, back to business: silly season.
The transfer market is well upon us and with it are the rumors. There are a number of names (as usual) that have been tossed around with Bolton Wanderers FC in the same sentence but no signings yet. Matilda already covered the strikers on the shopping list but here are the others:
Beram Kayal
BWFC have bid somewhere in the neighborhood of £2 million for the full Israeli international but Celtic want more for the central midfielder. He joined the Scottish club from Maccabi Haifa and had a successful first season capped with 2 goals. Celtic FC want a higher bid from Bolton with reports centering around the £6 million figure
Madjid Bougherra
Another player currently in Scotland, Bougherra has been lined up as a potential replacement for Gary Cahill should he go. The 6’3 defender is also currently in Scotland at Rangers and looks set to leave during this window with a hopeful return to the Premier League. Bougherra spent 6 months in the top flight with Charlton Athletic in the 2007/08 season. The Algerian international has a year left on his Rangers contract but turned down a 2 year extension in April.
Cameron Jerome
Sigh. Where to begin with this one. Apparently, the Wanderers have bid between £2 and £5 million for the Birmingham City target man with City rejecting the bid. In 23 appearances for the blues, Jerome has netted just three times. Yep. We already have mis-firing strikers, we don’t need another, especially not at the £8 million that Brum apparently want for him. That money, in mine and a number of other Bolton fan's opinions, would and could be spent much better elsewhere. He might be a decent buy at a much, much lower price. If Bolton bid anywhere near what Brum want, expect some upset fans.
Darren Pratley
The Swansea City midfielder won’t travel with the Swans to the Premier League as he’s confirmed that he’s leaving the club. It was reported earlier that Bolton was his likely destination and the Wanderers are set to announce his arrival on a free. He scored 7 goals in 29 league appearances as well as a strike from the halfway line in the playoff semifinal against Nottingham Forest.