Deadline day developments involving Wilfried Zaha sealed Bolton Wanderers demise: View | OneFootball

In 2012, Bolton Wanderers ended their 11-year stay in the Premier League after being relegated on the final day of the season, sharing a 2-2 draw with Stoke City at what was then known as the Britannia Stadium.

From the possible arrival of Wilfried Zaha to the actual signing of Marvin Sordell and then months of underperformance with a small squad; the deadline day of January 2012 leaves a sour taste for Wanderers supporters.

Looking back at it now, the developments late in the January transfer window sealed Bolton's demise.

Bolton push for Wilfred Zaha, Nick Powell, and Rhys Williams

After the sale of Gary Cahill to Chelsea for around £7 million that month, as well as long-term injury absentees such as Lee Chung-yong and Stuart Holden; Bolton Wanderers were in desperate need of reinforcements as they looked to stay in the Premier League.

Towards the end of the window, Bolton made an offer of £5 million to Crystal Palace for rising star Wilfried Zaha. The initial bid was rejected and then reportedly upped to £7 million but that was also knocked back by the South London outfit on the final day.

On the same day, with time ticking away, Bolton made a £6 million offer to another Championship club, Middlesbrough, for Australian international defender, Rhys Williams. Once again, that was also rejected.

Guinean international Ismael Bangoura was heavily linked with a move from Al Nassr but Coyle discredited those rumours, whilst a loan deal to sign FC Porto winger Juan Manuel Iturbe also didn’t come to fruition with the young Paraguayan rejecting the proposal despite the green light being given by his club.

In the same window, Bolton were heavily linked with then Crewe Alexandra midfielder Nick Powell with Owen Coyle attempting to sign him. A deal failed and less than six months later he joined Manchester United for £6 million.

Settling for Tim Ream, Ryo Miyaichi, and Marvin Sordell was costly

Instead of signing two players in Zaha and Powell that would go on to play for Manchester United within the next year, or three other internationally capped players, Bolton had to indeed settle.

By the end of that January window, Gary Cahill had been replaced by a novice fresh out of Major League Soccer in Tim Ream, who joined from the New York Red Bulls. The attack was complimented by the signings of Ryo Miyaichi on loan from Arsenal and the eventual ‘big money’ acquisition of Marvin Sordell for a fee of around £3.5 million from Watford.

Ream would go on to establish himself as an excellent player down in the second tier for the Whites but made just 13 appearances in the Premier League for the club as well as being responsible for a guilt-edge miss on the final day of the season in the dying moments against Stoke; a header that would have seen Bolton survive the drop had it beaten Thomas Sorensen.

Ryo Miyaichi scored a great goal against Millwall in the fifth round of the FA Cup but the Japanese winger, who was the alternative to the eventual Premier League star Zaha, played just 12 games for Bolton without scoring in the league.

Sordell had plenty of issues with Bolton supporters, never took to them and they to him. He played just three games for Bolton as they were relegated and then scored just four in 22 Championship appearances the following season.

From Williams, Powell, Iturbe, Zaha and Bangoura to Ream, Miyaichi and Sordell; the final few days of the January transfer window only harmed Bolton’s chances of survival and contributed to their steady and yet rapid decline over the next decade.