JOSH Magennis and Erhun Oztumer have been locked in a battle to escape Wanderers.

The pair are believed to have handed their notice in several weeks ago in an effort to terminate the final year of their contract.

Both players have offers to play elsewhere – Magennis has reportedly attracted interest from Rangers and Hearts, while Oztumer has been linked with Charlton this summer.

But Bolton’s administrators refused their request to walk away and have demanded a transfer fee, which prompted the players to bring in the PFA.

Remi Matthews had a similar situation earlier this summer when Crystal Palace looked to pick him up on a free transfer but the club demanded £300,000.

After initially being refused the opportunity to terminate his contract, midfielder Luca Connell managed to engineer a move to Celtic, with the Scottish club paying a training fee of around £350,000.

Peterborough United have also hovered in case Luke Murphy is able to walk away on a free.

Wanderers have just seven senior players under contract, two of which are goalkeepers, with a fortnight remaining before the opening game of the season at Wycombe Wanderers.

Sources close to the takeover suggest the Football Ventures consortium has made progress in the last few days in its efforts to buy the Bolton Whites Hotel alongside the club.