THE news that there is a possibility of Wanderers signing Emile Heskey got jaws dropping all over Bolton when it broke on Tuesday night.

The ex-England international is a well-known name in the country, mainly for scoring on that oh-so-wonderful night when England sparked the German football revolution with a 5-1 spanking in Munich.

But the reason Heskey’s link with Wanderers was such a surprise is because most of us thought he had hung up his boots long ago.

The striker is 37 in January which leads one to believe his days in professional football are numbered.

But the fact Wanderers are giving 36-year-old Eidur Gudjohnsen every chance to revive his career in England suggests age is not the barrier here it may be at many other clubs.

And why should it?

There is no reason players should not be able to play up to 45, even 50 years of age.

Why is it that when a footballer reaches 35 they are automatically regarded as finished?

Wanderers have done well in the past with older players, particularly Sam Allardyce who got a lot out of veterans like Gary Speed, Fernando Hierro and Youri Djorkaeff.

The policy was simple. Wanderers had their fitness standards and if you hit them you were in, if you didn’t you weren’t, regardless of age.

Some might say the human body can’t hit the same athletic levels once a person passes his mid-30s, but that’s rubbish.

You only have to look at England legend Stanley Matthews who played until he was 50, or even further back Billy Meredith who played at the top level for Manchester City and Manchester United right up to being 49 years and 245 days old.

And that was in the days when people didn’t live as long and health and fitness support was almost non-existent.

Very recently there were players who went on well into their forties, Yokohama FC striker Kazuyoshi Miura to 45, former Swansea full-back Andy Legg at Llanelli also to 45, and Brazil great Rivaldo to 41.

Allessandro Costacurta is the oldest player ever to play in the Champions League at 40, and Ryan Giggs could have gone on for a few more years yet had he wanted.

Football is missing a trick by dismissing a player just because he’s reached a certain age.

My old neighbour Paul Moulden – the ex-Manchester City striker – once told me he was rejected by a fairly well-known manager in the lower divisions 20 years ago because he didn’t believe Paul was only 32.

The conversation, from memory, went along the lines of:

Manager: “I’d have signed you if you were younger.”

Paul: “I’m only 32.”

Manager: “No you’re not, you’re much older than that.”

Paul: “No, honestly, I’m 32.”

Manager: “No you’re not.”

Football is scared of age.