AS failed experiments go, Gregg Wylde’s disastrous 15 months at Bolton Wanderers takes some beating.

When the former Glasgow Rangers winger plumped for the Reebok ahead of a handful of other Premier League clubs it seemed Owen Coyle had pulled off some canny business outside of the regular transfer window, having had a £400,000 bid turned down by the Scottish club just a few months earlier.

But as the Whites tore up Wylde’s contract at the weekend, the deal now looks very much like one of the former manager’s most costly errors.

Champions League football with Motherwell now looks the most likely option for the young Glaswegian, who is probably due some good fortune after a nightmare year south of the border.

Stuart McCall’s side are said to be at the head of a small selection of SPL clubs who could stretch their finances to the kind of salary that was offered by Wanderers to tempt Wylde to the Reebok ahead of Aston Villa or Wigan Athletic following his Ibrox exit.

When he terminated his contract at the fallen Scottish giants last March there was a quick flurry of interest from English clubs looking to pick up a rare bargain at that time of year.

Within a few weeks, however, the jungle of red tape to get his move sanctioned by FIFA and allow him to take part in a Premier League game had you wondering whether it was worth the bother.

A year to the day before Coyle’s side slid through the relegation trap door against Stoke City, Wylde had been celebrating a title with Rangers – but if that proved galling to the Scotland Under-21 international, the next year of his career would get even worse.

It started on a positive note as some handy appearances in pre-season suggested the 22-year-old could become a more regular starter in the Championship.

“The manager has let a lot of players go so maybe that opens the door for me and gives me the chance to shine,” he told The Bolton News last July after a friendly at Ayr United. “I’m looking forward to having a really good season and trying to get back up.”

He sat on the bench for the first three games of the campaign but with Chris Eagles hitting form early on and Martin Petrov as a rather expensive back-up, Wylde did not even get a sniff of first-team action when an experimental Wanderers side crashed to an embarrassing defeat at Crawley Town in the League Cup.

When Coyle, pictured below, was sacked in October he perhaps took with him Wylde’s last chance of becoming an established first-teamer.

Out went the traditional 4-4-2 system, which suited the wider players, and in came a more dependable, if slightly less flamboyant, structure under Dougie Freedman.

It was hoped Wylde could adapt his game under Jamie Fullarton’s stewardship in the development squad, and he was a regular throughout November and December before being offered a lifeline at League One Bury.

Kevin Blackwell’s side came to his rescue with the offer of first-team football, but Gigg Lane regulars were not generally impressed with what they saw over the course of a two-month spell in which fitness and form seemed to elude the young Glaswegian completely.

Hibs briefly emerged as a possible destination in January but pulled out of the deal at the last minute after failing to fund his salary.

He briefly returned to Freedman’s thoughts, sitting on the bench for the defeat at Watford – a game that actually sparked the Wanderers revival – but the loan signing of Steven de Ridder put paid to any chances of the young Scot breaking through.

Over the last few months of the season, sightings of Wylde anywhere at the club had become rare. His representatives were frantically seeking a move back to Scotland and, though news of his release will not come as a surprise to most Whites fans, the fact the club were unable to claw back any of the money invested is bound to come as a source of frustration.