Bolton boss Coyle plays down talk of swoop for Chelsea’s Romeu

Owen Coyle has moved to dampen speculation linking Bolton Wanderers with a swoop for Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu.

The 20-year-old, who made 22 appearances for Chelsea last season after joining last summer, has been linked with a transfer back to Barcelona, with the Catalan club understood to have a buy-back clause in his contract.

However, Bolton have also been linked with a surprise move for the Spanish midfielder, who has admitted he is keen to secure more regular first-team football.

But Wanderers boss Coyle has played down the reports. “I’m sure the stuff with Romeu came up because of the relationship we have with Chelsea but sometimes people put two and two together and make five,” Coyle told the Bolton News.

“There is no doubt that if there are players available on loan from Chelsea that Bolton Wanderers would be in the mix but there’s got to be an understanding of the level, depending on the player.”

“I’d suggest we’ve got a great relationship with all the elite clubs, and that’s not just in this country.

“Barcelona B are coming to play against us because of the relationship we have with Barcelona, and we have a very good relationship with Real Madrid.

“We know there are terrific players out there and that because of those relationships, those kind of clubs trust us with their players and know we’ll do right by them.

“We’re held in quite high regard because of how we work with the youngsters and improve them, so I don’t think we’ll ever be short of being able to entice them to the football club.”