Bolton boss Sam Allardyce reckons he needs eight new players before the start of the season after having one of his worst summers yet trying to lure quality players to the Reebok Stadium.
The Trotters boss has money to spend on new arrivals, but the bargain hunter has had trouble nailing his top targets so far this summer.
Bolton were keen on Dietmar Hamann and Mikael Forssell but the pair opted against moves to the team who finished sixth last term.
Allardyce is still hot on the heels of Olivier Dacourt, but now feels he will have to take on trailists to build his squad for the next campaign.
"This summer has been my worst summer because we have had constant knock-backs," explained Allardyce.
"I've got more money to spend than I have ever had, but I need eight new players before the start of the season.
"We missed out on Dietmar Hamann who decided to stay at Liverpool, Mikael Forssell decided to turn us down and join Birmingham," he added to the club's official website.
"Now it looks like we are gong to miss out on Roma's Olivier Dacourt because he will probably join another club elsewhere in Europe.
"I even tried to bring in Juventus defender Igor Tudor but we can't meet his demands - he would have been a major signing for us.
"I may have to go down the line of bringing in players on trial and giving them a chance in Japan and Thailand."