Skip to content

Petit snubs Bolton

French midfielder Emmanuel Petit claims he has rejected a move to Bolton.

French midfielder Emmanuel Petit claims he has rejected a move to Bolton Wanderers.

Petit is available on a free transfer after his contract with Chelsea expired earlier in the summer.

He spent the bulk of last season sidelined through injury and he is still working his way towards peak fitness after knee surgery.

The former France international has stepped up his search for a new club in recent weeks and is understood to have been weighing up several offers.

One of those arrived from Premiership side Bolton, with Sam Allardyce always willing to add experienced players to his squad for little outlay.

But Petit has revealed he has snubbed the overtures of The Trotters after the club backtracked on their initial agreement.

"The club's officials wanted to take advantage of my present situation to question some points we have already settled in a previous agreement," Petit told L'Equipe.

"So I refused to sign.

"I won't sell myself cut price just because I had knee surgery."

Meanwhile, Bolton boss Allardyce has acknowledged he stepped in for Gary Speed after Fulham failed to agree a deal with the Wales international.

Speed joined Bolton from Newcastle United in the summer and is set to line up for The Trotters at Fulham on Saturday.

"Gary could very easily have been lining up against us," admitted Allardyce.

"But Fulham messed about and I snatched him from under their noses."

Around Sky