By Mark Heys
August 15 2005

This last week of football has been a very bitter/sweet one to say the least, but perhaps even more so for Sam Allardyce and his staff at Bolton Wanderers. Big Sam was understandably over the moon after managing to convince Japanese superstar Hidetoshi Nakata that his future lay at the Reebok Stadium, but any joy and elation of a Nakata arrival in Bolton sooned turned to despair as two of his current squad became under the scrutiny of other clubs.

Of those, Stelios Giannakopoulos must be one of the most talked about men in football at the moment as speculation regarding his future has gone into a permanent overdrive.

Since the end of last season the little Greek maestro has been going to Liverpool, staying at Bolton, going to Liverpool and staying at Bolton again, so it was quite a surprise that Manchester City should throw their name into the hat over the weekend.

The Wanderers obviously want Stelios to stay, but an alleged clause in his current contract and the fact that he is taking his time over signing a new one is making life very difficult for Allardyce's Army.

City confirm that they have acted professionally during the negotiations stage, but Bolton beg to differ and whilst the two fight it out between themselves another club has taken time out to pick at the Trotters squad in the hope of making a steal.

Al-Rayyan might not be the most recognisable name in worldwide football, but it is a club which has previously housed a Spanish legend in the shape of Fernando Hierro, this the same Hierro who spent a successful year at the Reebok Stadium at the end of a glittering career.

Now nearly two years on from their Hierro coup, the Qatari club have set their sights on making Bolton captain Jay-Jay Okocha their next high profile import much to the disgut of Trotters chairman Phil Gartside.

This alleged interest from Okocha's old coach Luis Fernandez was not the reason behind the Wanderers anger, but the talk of a £2.5 million deal already being finalised did get the blood boiling over it's normal level.

With just over two weeks left of this ridiculous transfer window, these claims made today are the biggest migrane of Wanderers season so far, and all coming just two days after the opening game at Aston Villa.

Mark Heys