Bolton legend Stelios talks Wanderers move & why Man City & Liverpool transfers did not happen

Bolton Wanderers legend Stelios Giannakopoulos says he was convinced by Sam Allardyce to come to the club due to the what the Whites were set to become in Premier League.

Greek winger Stelios joined Wanderers in the summer of 2003 from Olympiacos in his native country. He went on to become one of the club's legendary players in a golden era during the 2000s.

He was part of a team which also boasted the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha, Ivan Campo, Fernando Hierro, Ricardo Gardner, Kevin Nolan, Jussi Jaaskelainen and Kevin Davies. His time at Wanderers also saw him play in two UEFA Cup campaigns with the club.

READ MORE:Ex-Bolton midfielder's first words after signing for Brentford B in transfer away from Wanderers

Stelios went on to play 177 games for the Whites across five season, scoring 28 goals in that time. He left in the summer of 2008 for Hull City.

Reflecting on his move from his native Greece to the Reebok Stadium as it was then known, Stelios admits that his team mates at Olympiacos found his move to Bolton amusing at the time owing to where the club was in 2003. But he was convinced to come by Allardyce and his vision for what Wanderers later achieved as he achieved a dream to play in the English top flight.

Speaking to the BBC's Wanderer podcast, Stelios said: "I will be completely honest with you, most of my team mates were laughing at me! Because Bolton was not the Bolton it became three or five years later, it was not this size of club.

"But for me it was a Premier League club that had the potential to achieve what it really achieved in the following years. I was always a step ahead in my thinking and I could realise the potential.

"This is the reason I signed for Olympiacos because I could realise there would