Dougie looking to January recruits but the big question is money

"To be realistic and honest, these players need some help.

"I think we need to recruit a certain type of player that understands this division, has some hunger to get back to the Premiership and sees this as a club who can do that."

That was manager Dougie Freedman's immediate reaction to Bolton's home loss against Sheffield Wednesday. A gutless and disjointed Bolton Wanderers side couldn't find the net against the Owls and were ultimately beaten by a man that hadn't scored since August 2010.

At this point, there is no question that Dougie Freedman will be looking to sign "two or three" players in the upcoming January transfer window. In order to do that though, Dougie will have to splash the cash. The question is: how much?

Ever since the days of Gary Megson, the Bolton Wanderers board hasn't been too willing to open the checkbook in the face of rising debts and even higher player prices. Where Gary Megson was free to sign the likes of Zat Knight for £5 million, Owen Coyle was really only free to spend money that he had acquired from the sale of players. For example, Gary Cahill's move to Chelsea would eventually fund the transfers of Marvin Sordell, Tim Ream, Matt Mills, and Andy Lonergan.

Whether that will be the case for Dougie Freedman remains to be seen. The manager hasn't held talks with the board yet but he says that the discussions are fast approaching:

"Money can't just buy anything you want. You must understand what you are recruiting on and off the field and though I haven't had that conversations with the owners yet, I'm sure I will soon."

A number of names have been tossed around in regards to Bolton transfers but none have yet emerged as solid transfer targets.