Sam Allardyce has recalled working with “world class” Jay Jay Okocha and why the Nigerian’s exit was one of the “hardest" parts of his Wanderers career.
Okocha lit up the Premier League with his magic feet, becoming a favourite at Bolton and among the wider footballing world.
He spent four years in the North West - playing alongside the likes of Youri Djorkaeff, Fernando Hierro and Ivan Campo - before heading to Qatar in 2006.
“Probably one of the saddest things, when you’ve got what you consider a world class player, when my job is to say it is the end,” Big Sam said on the Footy Accumulators " target="_blank" class="link"> No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast.
“That is one of the hardest things you have to do as a manager because nobody believes it, I didn’t when they told me.
“When you are talking to somebody with the class of Jay Jay, on and off the field, and what he brings. The Premier League – in our opinion and what the stats were saying – was catching up with him a little bit.
“You just hope you part on reasonable (terms) and of course that is what happened. But what a journey.”
Okocha spent a year in the Middle East before returning to English football to sign for Hull City in the Championship.
When asked what the Nigerian would be worth in today’s market, Big Sam replied: “£100million.
“I have always said why did nobody else take him in the Premier League? What reputation did he have to say he is not for us on a free transfer?
“Somebody must have thought he wouldn’t fit into the structure of the team but he took instructions better than anybody else.
“The manager wants to play like this and we play like this and get on with it, that is him as captain.
“Within the structure you have to allow those talented players to express themselves and that is what we did. He was so good in terms of what he achieved.
“Sometimes I look back at short clips of Jay Jay Okocha at Bolton and when you put them all together – some of the runs he made, the passes, the tricks, the goals he scored – it makes you tingle. There were him and many others, what an era that was.”
