Sam Allardyce has declared an interest in Feyenoord midfielder Shinji Ono.
The Bolton boss is looking to bolster his squad as he has four players on African Nations Cup duty next month.
Ono, 26, has been troubled by injuries and his contract with the Dutch club expires in the summer.
It is understood the Japanese player’s agent is scheduled to talk to Bolton next week when the transfer window reopens and although Allardyce would prefer a loan deal he believes that option might not appeal to Feyenoord.
He said: “He is a player we would be very interested in.
“It would be nice if we could get a loan deal done but I don’t think that we will.
“They (Feyenoord) are more likely to be interested in selling him as he is running into the latter end of his contract.”
Allardyce is anxious to get cover for El-Hadji Diouf, Jay-Jay Okocha, Abdoulaye Faye and Radhi Jaidi when they travel to Egypt.
Khalilou Fadiga was also expected to take part in the tournament for Senegal but the midfielder has been excluded.
Allardyce said: “I am sure he is very disappointed but it does give him an opportunity to play for us on a more regular basis given that we will be down on numbers.
“I hope he grasps that with both hands and shows the kind of talent he does possess.”