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Neil Lennon would not be surprised if other clubs started to sniff around free agent Eidur Gudjohnsen after his trial at Wanderers went public.
The Whites boss continues to weigh up whether to Gudjohnsen a short-term contract after watching him make his first appearance in a Bolton shirt in 14 years this afternoon.
The Icelandic legend played 75 minutes in a private friendly against local rivals Bury and is pencilled in to play another game next week.
Gudjohnsen is keen to return to English football, where he played for Chelsea, Spurs, Stoke and Fulham after leaving Wanderers at the turn of the millennium.
He is out of contract after leaving Belgian club FC Brugge in the summer and looking to continue his playing career in an effort to return to international football.
While Lennon has been impressed with what he has seen so far from the 36-year-old, he accepts news of his return may have alerted rival bidders.
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” the manager said. “I just think that the fact he wants to still keep playing on is impressive.
“He has had a break and come back looking very fresh. He’s integrated really well.
“All that is left to do is assess where he is up to – but how do you assess Eidur Gudjohnsen? You know what I mean, we’ll have a good look at him.”
Yesterday’s game, played at Leyland, ended up 3-1 to Wanderers with Oscar Threlkeld scoring twice and Rob Hall supplying the third.
Lennon revealed that the plan is now to try and build the former Barcelona and Monaco star’s match fitness before making a final decision on signing him, although talks with chairman Phil Gartside over his demands at the end of last week are understood to have gone smoothly.
“We need to build it up towards 90 minutes,” the manager said. “I needed to see him in a different environment, 11 versus 11. Until you do that, you’ve no real idea how he’ll fit in.
“But put it this way, he’s done absolutely everything we’ve asked of him so far. We just needed to see him play football.
“He’s certainly got the talent – that isn’t in question – it’s just the physical capacity and we haven’t made that decision yet.
“What I will say is that everything he’s been asked to do, he’s done it comfortably.”
Wanderers’ development squad face Middlesbrough on Monday in a game which was originally due to take place at the Macron Stadium but has now been switched to the County Ground, kick-off 7pm.
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The Whites boss continues to weigh up whether to Gudjohnsen a short-term contract after watching him make his first appearance in a Bolton shirt in 14 years this afternoon.
The Icelandic legend played 75 minutes in a private friendly against local rivals Bury and is pencilled in to play another game next week.
Gudjohnsen is keen to return to English football, where he played for Chelsea, Spurs, Stoke and Fulham after leaving Wanderers at the turn of the millennium.
He is out of contract after leaving Belgian club FC Brugge in the summer and looking to continue his playing career in an effort to return to international football.
While Lennon has been impressed with what he has seen so far from the 36-year-old, he accepts news of his return may have alerted rival bidders.
“It wouldn’t surprise me,” the manager said. “I just think that the fact he wants to still keep playing on is impressive.
“He has had a break and come back looking very fresh. He’s integrated really well.
“All that is left to do is assess where he is up to – but how do you assess Eidur Gudjohnsen? You know what I mean, we’ll have a good look at him.”
Yesterday’s game, played at Leyland, ended up 3-1 to Wanderers with Oscar Threlkeld scoring twice and Rob Hall supplying the third.
Lennon revealed that the plan is now to try and build the former Barcelona and Monaco star’s match fitness before making a final decision on signing him, although talks with chairman Phil Gartside over his demands at the end of last week are understood to have gone smoothly.
“We need to build it up towards 90 minutes,” the manager said. “I needed to see him in a different environment, 11 versus 11. Until you do that, you’ve no real idea how he’ll fit in.
“But put it this way, he’s done absolutely everything we’ve asked of him so far. We just needed to see him play football.
“He’s certainly got the talent – that isn’t in question – it’s just the physical capacity and we haven’t made that decision yet.
“What I will say is that everything he’s been asked to do, he’s done it comfortably.”
Wanderers’ development squad face Middlesbrough on Monday in a game which was originally due to take place at the Macron Stadium but has now been switched to the County Ground, kick-off 7pm.
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