Wanderers have abandoned attempts to land Colombia international Carlos Sanchez after the player’s agent demanded they double his wages at the last moment.

The club are furious that their long-running efforts to sign the 26-year-old have drawn a blank, and now face a race to bolster their midfield before the start of the Championship season in 10 day's time.

As The Bolton News reported on Monday, Wanderers had long since set down their final offer, which was made when the parties first spoke in July.

The deal was put in considerable doubt after a string of missed meetings, and the added confusion of a number of different people claiming to represent the former Valenciennes man. It appeared a breakthrough had been made at the weekend when Sanchez, nicknamed The Rock, and his agent arrived in England – only for them to be dashed yet again when their demands were hiked considerably when they turned up at the Reebok.

Wanderers wasted no time in walking away from the deal, and Owen Coyle believes the money the Colombian was requesting would have been out of the reach of many top Premier League clubs.

Explaining his chase of Sanchez, Coyle told us: “He's a player we enquired about a couple of months ago, and in between that, I was on holiday and Phil (Gartside) did meet with his representatives.

“At that point they thought they were close to a deal and then their demands changed.

“Again last week I had another email to say he was coming over, and to be fair, I think he did manage to get into the country but the next email with the demands was absolutely ridiculous.

“A couple of months ago we'd written it off anyway and they seemed to come back on and try and get us back involved.

“There was no point meeting with the player because of the demands they had put forward. They were far and away beyond our means, and I've got to say, they would be out of the reach of a lot of top six clubs as well."

Coyle admits he is now in the market for a replacement and it is thought he could turn to a short-term loan to bridge the gap until US international Stuart Holden returns to fitness.

But the Whites boss insists the finances are in place to sign a suitable replacement if one comes along on a permanent basis.

“If I thought it was realistic then he's a good player and he's the type that would add to our squad because he's a holding midfielder and that's the kind we need at the moment," he said.

“Stuart (Holden) can play in that role but he's injured at the moment, and I think in time that young Josh Vela could too, but I think it's a position we're struggling to fill a little bit there.

“If there's something of that ilk, that quality out there, then of course I'd be interested in it.

“He (Sanchez) is that quality but the money he was asking for surpasses even that."