Rivaldo 'very close' to Bolton move

Rivaldo is “very close” to joining Bolton, according to the player’s English representative Peter Harrison.

The World Cup winner is back in Spain, currently mulling over the club’s offer.

Harrison is quietly confident he will get the go-ahead from the personal agent of the former AC Milan and Barcelona playmaker.

That would be a major coup for chairman Phil Gartside and manager Sam Allardyce.

“With a transfer of this size you can never be 100 per cent sure but Sam’s made his offer and things are going very well,” Harrison told the Bolton Evening News.

“There’s nothing untoward about the delay. Rivaldo just wanted time to think about it.

“I know for sure that Sam made a good impression on him and so did Phil Gartside. Everything’s looking good.”

Rivaldo has been told to prepare for tough shifts if he joins Bolton.

The message comes from striker Kevin Davies, who has re-ignited his career at the Reebok Stadium.

Rivaldo and his representatives are about to resume talks ahead of a possible two-year contract.

Davies said: “You’ve got to work hard in this team. We’ve got some good players in but they have not worked hard and been left out.

“So we will see how good he is at tracking back!”

Bolton have grown in stature following the arrivals of Jay-Jay Okocha, Youri Djorkaeff and Ivan Campo.

Davies added: “If Rivaldo does sign, we are going to learn loads from him, like we do from other players here.”