It's easy to forget Chelsea title-winner pulled up trees with Bolton Wanderers before Stamford Bridge move | OneFootball

Many at Stamford Bridge called Eidur Gudjohnsen the 'blonde Maradona' whilst at the club, but he was starring for Bolton prior to that.

Eidur Gudjohnsen will likely go down in history as one of the more underrated creative midfielders of the 2000s.

Most remember him from his time at Chelsea, where he made 263 appearances over six years, winning two Premier League titles and a League Cup during that time.

And his class was even recognised by Barcelona too, securing a move there after his time at Chelsea ended, where he won a Champions League title as well.

But if you were to ask him where he felt most at home in Europe, the 46-year-old wouldn't say Tottenham or Monaco or Fulham, and probably not even Barcelona or Chelsea.

He'd say Bolton Wanderers. The club which made him a household name in England and, despite only spending two seasons there before he was snatched up by the Blues in a £4.5 million deal.

Eidur Gudjohnsen tore up the Championship with Bolton before his move to Chelsea

Gudjohnsen wasn't exactly an unknown quantity when he signed for Bolton Wanderers.

Many knew of his father, Arnor, who played for the likes of Anderlecht and Bordeaux in Europe. Eidur, in fact, made his Iceland national debut as a 17-year-old as a substitute for his dad.

In the midst of that, the exciting teenager was playing for PSV alongside the Brazilian Ronaldo, but injuries saw him sent back to Iceland for a brief spell with KR Reykjavik.

It was from there that he made the move to Bolton, and despite the Trotters playing in the old First Division (the current Championship), his performances were enough to attract Premier League big boys Chelsea.

He was part of the 1999/2000 Bolton side who ludicrously managed to finish in a play-off place whilst also navigating deep runs in both the League and FA Cup, reaching the semi-finals in both. Gudjohnsen played 51 times in all competitions that season, scoring 20 goals.

This saw Chelsea come-a-knocking, and the 2000 FA Cup winners spent £4.5 million to bring the then-21-year-old to Stamford Bridge.

In comparison, Arsenal spent around the same for Robert Pirès in the same transfer window, which goes to show how well thought of Gudjohnsen was by the higher-ups at one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Eidur Gudjohnsen post-Bolton Wanderers

The Icelandic forward most definitely lived up to the hype straight away at Chelsea.

In his first season at the club, he managed 10 goals and six assists from 29 Premier League appearances, and he followed that up with 14 goals and seven assists in 32 games the season after (per Transfermarkt).

He scored in the double digits in four of his six Premier League seasons at the club, including in the 2004/05 campaign, where he played a part in every game on the way to the Blues' first top-flight title.

His minutes were reduced in the following season, and that was where he made the switch to the Champions League holders, Barcelona, for £8 million.

He never managed to reach the creative heights at the Nou Camp that he showed whilst at Chelsea, but he did contribute to a treble in his final year at the club, as Barcelona won La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.

A return to Bolton 14 years later

Injuries stopped Gudjohnson from really kicking on at the likes of Monaco and Tottenham, and despite playing 28 times for Club Brugge in the 2013/14 campaign, he was let go at the end of his contract.

He would start training at Bolton at the start of the next season, and in December 2014, he signed a short-term deal with Neil Lennon's side.

In his one season back at the club, Gudjohnsen still managed five goals and two assists in the Championship as a 36-year-old, and captained the side on his final appearance against Birmingham.

The Icelandic legend didn't finish his career at Bolton, as small stints in China and Norway came after, but a return to the then-Macron Stadium to bookend his time in England was the perfect way for a modern-day Trotters legend to say goodbye to the club which gave him the foundations for the very successful career he went on to have.