OWEN Coyle has told Andre Villas Boas he wants to bring Daniel Sturridge back to the Reebok on loan – but accepts he might have to be patient before landing his man.

As The Bolton News revealed last month, the two young managers know each other well after training together for the UEFA Pro Licence at the prestigious Scottish Football Association coaching centre at Largs, Ayrshire.

Coyle confirmed he had talked to the new Stamford Bridge boss about re-signing the England Under-21 international, who was a huge hit with eight goals in 12 outings for Wanderers last season.

If Sturridge goes out on loan, he has already indicated to his representatives that his preferred destination would be the Reebok, despite similar interest about a six-month loan from Newcastle United, Stoke City and West Brom.

And while the Whites boss is understandably keen to secure one of his top targets of the summer, he accepts that Villas Boas will need time to sort out his squad before allowing any players to leave.

“We’ve had dialogue but it’s like anything else, when you come in as a manager you have to allow someone to look at the whole picture and allow him to see everyone, and not make pre-judgements,” he said.

“When it’s all settled, we’ll have a chat and take it from there.”

Coyle has backed the former Porto coach to be a big success in the Premier League after witnessing his erudite style first hand during their two years of study. He was someone we all took to,” he added. “He is very likeable, very humble.

“When we started he was working with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, and then consequently moved on to Inter Milan and Academica. We always exchanged numbers, even though mine hasn’t changed in about 10 years, “I even spoke to him at Inter Milan to get a couple of younger players there, which didn’t come to fruition.

“He’ll do well because he knows his football and knows people. He’s very meticulous in what he does.

“We were on a very thorough course with the SFA and he revelled in it. For me, he’s perfect for Chelsea.”