CONSIDERED by many to be one of the best goalkeepers in the Premiership - Sam Allardyce puts him in the top six - it is surely just a matter of time before one of the top clubs comes calling for Jussi Jaaskelainen.

If the rumours are right, Manchester United had already tested the water before Roy Carroll's high-profile howlers.

Arsenal could do worse, judging by the way Arsene Wenger has alternated between Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia, and Jerzy Dudek's inconsistency has put a question-mark over his Liverpool future. But, ambitious though he is, it will take more than bright lights and big city life to tempt the Wanderers keeper to leave the Reebok.

Bolton has been home to the Jaaskelainens, Jussi and his wife Tessa, for the last seven years. Their two sons - William is six and Emil will be four in a couple of weeks - were born here and are being raised bilingually, speaking Finnish at home and English with their pals.

These are early days, considering he is only 29 and still to reach his prime as a goalkeeper, but ask the Finland international if he would be happy to stay when he eventually hangs up his boots and he does not rule it out.

"It's too far off to say what we'll do when I finish playing," he said, "but you never know what will happen in your life.

"We are very happy here in Bolton. The boys are settled in school, the youngest one in pre-school, and my wife is happy here.

"Bolton is not too big a city for us and that's how we like it. Both of us come from little towns in Finland of about 35,000 people."

Much has been made of the Reebok team spirit down the years with each new arrival - English or foreign - remarking on how they have been made to feel welcome. It is easily said, but Jaaskelainen has been around long enough - only Ricardo Gardner has been on the books longer - to know that it is a genuine and enduring quality.

"Players have changed over the seasons here but the spirit seems to stay the same," he said.

"It's a club where the other players help you settle in, because there is always a great spirit here and it is most important to feel comfortable at the club you are playing for."

Jaaskelainen could be given a chance to become Finland's undisputed number one, if Southampton's Antti Niemi, who is currently injured, goes through with his plan to retire after the current World Cup campaign. But the Reebok shot-stopper, whose impressive saves against Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough and Fulham helped Wanderers maintain their unbeaten run in the Premiership and FA Cup, has always put his club career first and, with Sam Allardyce on the lookout for another top keeper, he sees no reason to change his priorities.

"You never know how far the club can go and I want to keep working hard and be part of it," he said.

"It's up to me to play well enough to keep my place if the gaffer brings somebody else in.

"Niemi is going to finish playing international football after the World Cup qualifying games, so I'll see what happens when that time comes, but the main aim for me is here."