Bolton boss Sam Allardyce has spoken about his frustration this summer of not being able to sign his top transfer targets.
"It has been extremely tough in terms of new signings," said Allardyce.
"First of all we thought we were going to get Dietmar Hamann from Liverpool but that failed to materialise.
"Then we must have gone after another eight or 10 players and though we got somewhere down the line all of them for one reason or another fell through.
"In some cases they just decided to stop where they were, in others someone else came in with a bigger offer. All in all it has been a hugely disappointing scenario."
Allardyce will continue to scour the country for possible bargains until transfer deadline day in August, as he tries to build a squad capable of Premier League and European football.