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Bolton Wanderers have finally completed the re-signing of former Chelsea and Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen, in one of the most unsurprising but exciting transfer deals we've seen in a while. The striker will wear the number 22 shirt and could be available for selection as early as tomorrow.
The Icelandic striker had been in training with the first-team squad at Bolton Wanderers' Euxton training complex since early November and played in two Development Squad matches, impressing in the latest against Middlesbrough on Monday evening.
And now, 14 years since leaving The Whites for Chelsea in a £4 million deal, the forward looks to have finally come back home. Details of the deal and how long Eidur will stay with Bolton remain unclear, but manager Neil Lennon expects to have Eidur available for Reading away tomorrow.
Lennon said:
"I’m delighted to have Eidur on board. think he will be a big game player and he is relishing getting back out on the field.
"It may take him a little time to adjust to the Championship and the style of play that is required of him, but that said however, he has come in with a completely open mind – he’s motivated, he’s done everything that has been asked of him on the physical side of things and he can only get better.
He continued:
"In terms of his footballing ability, we all know what he is capable of and that is an exciting prospect.
He is a quality player, and he knows exactly what we expect of him going forward – he is definitely looking forward to the challenge ahead of him."
Rumours that Eidur would sign have certainly excited Bolton fans, and he will be a vital addition to a forward line that is light on numbers.
The pathetic Jermaine Beckford's welcome move to Preston for the rest of the season leaves us with just Craig Davies, Max Clayton and Joe Mason, who appears to be out of favour with Lennon and may return to Cardiff shortly, assisted by young Conor Wilkinson.
Eidur will likely be utilised in a position just off the main striker, and his skill and quality on the ball could be a vital addition to the squad given the long-term absence of Mark Davies and with Chung-Yong Lee playing in the Asia Cup in January.
As previously reported Eidur could also be joined at Macron Stadium by fellow golden oldie Emile Heskey, who Lennon also spoke about with BBC Radio Manchester:
"Emile is a free agent and I know him very well from my time at Leicester, another player that we tried to sign in our time at Celtic.
"He may be coming to the end of his career but he still has good attributes, we're going to have a look at him over the next two weeks and see if he's got something to offer."
It's great to see Eidur back at Bolton, and lets hope he can turn back the clock and deliver a glimpse of the performances that made him a fans' favourite all those years ago.