Jay-Jay Okocha Signed For Bolton Before They Showed Him The Training Ground

Jay-Jay Okocha has revealed that he agreed to join Bolton Wanderers from Paris Saint-Germain before discovering exactly where he would be training.

The Nigerian joined Bolton in 2002 after leaving PSG, becoming one of the most remarkable signings of Sam Allardyce’s time at the club. More than two decades later, Okocha has admitted that his understanding of Bolton was fairly limited when the move was arranged.

Speaking on the Obi One Podcast, Okocha said he had not researched the club beforehand. After hearing that Bolton was close to Manchester, he assumed the two cities’ football clubs were operating on roughly comparable terms.

Bolton did little to disturb that impression during his first visit.

Okocha was collected from Manchester Airport and taken to the Reebok Stadium, where he was shown the club’s impressive new home before agreeing to sign. The training ground was not included in the tour.

He discovered that part afterwards.

Okocha recalled arriving for training to find a changing room housed in a cabin and shower facilities capable of accommodating only a few players at once, leaving members of the squad waiting their turn.

The decision not to show him the facilities beforehand appears not to have been accidental.

Allardyce revealed in 2024 that Bolton deliberately took prospective signings such as Okocha and Youri Djorkaeff to the Reebok Stadium and hotel while avoiding the club’s much more modest training ground. He admitted that had the players seen the facilities first, they might not have signed.

The strategy worked.

Okocha spent four years at Bolton, became club captain and established himself as one of the most celebrated players of the Allardyce era.

Bolton had an impressive stadium, an ambitious Premier League team and a considerably less impressive training ground.

They simply established the order in which new signings were introduced to them.