GORDON Taylor says he has grave concerns about the takeover at Bolton Wanderers – and has called on the EFL to get tougher on clubs who don’t pay their players.

The PFA chief is worried about the length of time it is taking for the Football Ventures consortium to complete a deal to buy the club.

Bolton’s players have not been paid in five months and some have sought individual hardship loans from the union to cover their costs.

Speaking to Talksport radio, Taylor said he was “not confident” the takeover would be resolved quickly.

“Where there’s life, there’s hope, of course, but it is taking an inordinate amount of time and I am not so certain that the potential buyers are real football people and understanding the way the game works,” he said. “With that point of view, I am not filled with a high amount of confidence, I’m afraid.

“It’s been involved since May now and they want a moratorium but I have explained to them that the main thing at any football club is players, and they need to be looked after. There’s a football creditors’ rule to make sure they are paid their money.

“We have said to the Football League ‘come on, you have got to be strong enough to push your regulations otherwise you leave us with no alternative but to go to FIFA, the world governing body, where they will give these clubs sanctions and determine whether they exist or not because that is how serious the situation is now.”

Wanderers’ players rejected the offer of a deferred wage and will now be paid up front by Football Ventures on completion of a deal.

It is understood, however, that the consortium will not be seeking financial assistance from the PFA to pay the players.

“We need to know the administrators have got the resources to make this club a going concern,” Taylor said. “At Bolton, similar problems at Bury, same at Notts County and Macclesfield, the game has never had more money coming into it and yet I can never recall an occasion where so many players have been owed money for such a lengthy amount of time.”