As the Jay Spearing transfer saga (or non-saga, depending on which way you look at it) wears on, Bolton Wanderers are getting further and further away from the midfielder that the fans voted Player of the Season for 2012/13. Whether Bolton need the player or not (you would be silly not to want Spearing but need is a very different question) is still up for debate. With all that said, it seems as though the Trotters are not/have not been in the race for Jay Spearing, with some new quotes from Dougie Freedman coming to light.
To recap, a rumor emerged in the Daily Mirror over the weekend stating that Blackburn Rovers had bid £1.5 million for Jay Spearing and that Liverpool had accepted the bid. The player wants to stay in the Premier League and a report in the Bolton News claimed that Bolton were his first choice if a top flight stay was not possible. Despite the accepted bid, Jay Spearing's people have said that there has been "absolutely no contact at all" from Blackburn with their client.
Earlier in the day, Dougie Freedman hosted an open question-and-answer session (as he has done over the last month or so) and the fans were very eager to learn more about the Jay Spearing situation.
@OfficialBWFC #AskDougie how come we didn't snap up Jay Spearing after his successful loan last season?
— LittleBigJolAndwot® (@Jolspeed) July 9, 2013
DF: "This is one problem with loans. You work with them, they go back better with an increased value. We have nothing to show at the end."
— Official BWFC (@OfficialBWFC) July 9, 2013
DF: "Jay Spearing did wonderfully well for our club and of course I like him as a player and person."
— Official BWFC (@OfficialBWFC) July 9, 2013
@OfficialBWFC Dougie is the signing of Jay Spearing a realistic proposition for BWFC
— Bravo Inns (@BravoInns) July 9, 2013
DF: "We spoke to Liverpool and their valuation was too high. Please do not believe the price that some journalist makes up."
— Official BWFC (@OfficialBWFC) July 9, 2013
Freedman would go on to add further feelings about the loan market, saying that loans improve another team's players but leave Bolton with nothing in the short term.
On top of that, Dougie confirmed the long-rumored Chelsea loan clause following the sale of Gary Cahill to the Blues back in 2011, saying "I believe that is the case, but we have not got an option on which player. We're back at improving other team's players again."