In the backdrop of Liverpool’s takeover everyone’s talking about the need to pay ‘big money’ to buy world-class players. Not everyone has that option though – some clubs have the money but not the sex appeal (West Ham, Newcastle :P), other teams simply don’t have that much money.

Say what you want about Bolton’s playing style and Sam Allardyce as a person, their work in the transfer market in recent years has been very admirable, and has taken Bolton from relegation strugglers to strong candidates for Europe.

Bolton’s recent pre-contract agreements with FC Zurich’s captain, Blerim Dzemaili and Bordeaux’s Gerald Cid underline the value of developing quality scouting networks and investing in such infrastructure. Considering that Bolton can offer these players first-team football as well, it’s good for all sides, and definitely better than plonking down 31m on Sheva, 29m on Rio or 21m on Shaun Wright-Phillips