YOU won’t find the path between the Bernabeu and Bolton in any travel book – but that hasn’t stopped some pretty famous names making the journey in recent years.

Derik Osede became the latest man to swap the famous white of Madrid for that of Wanderers, and did so on the recommendation of someone who knows the club well.

Marcos Alonso, the full-back signed by Owen Coyle in 2010, gave Derik the lowdown on life in the North West after Neil Lennon has showed interest in signing him.

“He told me Bolton Wanderers is a good club,” said the defender, who signed a three-year contract this week. “I listened to him and took the decision to come here.

“Fernando Hierro, Ivan Campo, Marcos Alonso, Rodrigo have all done it – this is a good team to develop.

“I was in contact with Bolton since June. The first thing that came to my mind was that it was a good opportunity for me. I was very happy for that.

“Bolton is a good team and they have had many good players here. I knew they had been in the Premier League for a long time.

“Three years ago they were relegated but the challenge of the team now is to go back up.”

Derik – as he prefers to be known – also got the backing of flamboyant ex-Whites star Ivan Campo on Twitter, and his arrival has caused a rustle of excitement in what has been a fairly testing summer for Wanderers fans.

Like Campo, the 22-year-old may need time to adjust to a different way of life, and almost certainly a different brand of football than he had become accustomed to at Castilla, Real’s feeder club.

But the youngster sees his move to England as a chance to start afresh away from Madrid.

“It was a hard decision. It was like I was born at Real,” he said.

“It is difficult because I left my family there, my things there, I was comfortable.

“This is my chance. I am really excited about it. This is a good opportunity for me and I have to develop more.

“The English league is a hard league and it will be good for me.

“I feel really good, the team-mates have been very sympathetic with me and now it’s time to get fit and acclimatise quickly.

“It is different because the fitness in Spain is not like it is here. In Spain there is more training with the ball, but here I will get strong.”

Derik is already planning English lessons to get a firm grip on the language but has been thrown in at the deep end here in Austria, with the training ground banter flying back and forth.

The defender, who described himself as quick and good in the air, is keen to repay Lennon for his faith too.

The Wanderers boss worked hard to convince him to come to the Macron Stadium, flying over to Spain in person on a couple of occasions to see the deal through.

“I met him in Madrid. I liked his interest in me,” Derik added.

“I say thank you to him because he had trust in me.

“I will train hard and play hard – this is my reward to him.”

If Osede can make the same impact as some of the Madrid stars that have come this way, Lennon will believe the chase was worth it.

Alonso spent three years with the Whites, breaking into the first team on a regular basis in his final season before leaving for Fiorentina.

Bernabeu youth product Rodrigo had actually signed for Benfica when he turned up with Alonso in 2010 – but his brief stay was a prelude to a career now very much on the up with Valencia.

Hierro’s time at Bolton was also brief, but memorable. Although he stayed for a solitary season, the impression he left in the 2004-5 campaign will not be forgotten.

Likewise Campo, who made 180 appearances for Wanderers, scoring 13 goals, and it is hoped he could make a flying visit for Kevin Davies’s Futsal exhibition game on July 19 at the Manchester Velodrome.