WE might have bailed out on signing Carlos Vela, but, in Daniel Sturridge, Wanderers have found someone who really fits the bill.

I think we’ve all been looking round and hoping for a spark from somewhere and, I must admit, I was wondering where that was going to come from.

We were right to pull out of the Vela deal because his agent tried to move the goalposts but there’s no hiding the fact we’ve looked a bit jaded up front recently, so to get someone in of Sturridge’s stature really gives you a bit of optimism for the rest of the season.

I first saw him at Manchester City when he played alongside my son Michael at the age of 15 for the Under-17s, and you could tell he was going to be a hell of a good player. He was mature, physically strong and sharp on the ball.

Since then, he’s moved on to Chelsea and done okay when he’s had the chance, considering he’s been behind Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba.

I think he’ll suit us better than Vela, who for all his strengths, is still a form player, someone with flair who will sometimes struggle to get into a game. In Sturridge, we’ve got an all rounder, and a young English striker who knows what being in the Premier League is all about.

You’ve got to give Owen a bit of credit for getting this lad in.

He’s obviously done himself no harm with what he did for Jack Wilshere last season, and I think the big clubs know they can trust him with their younger players now.

If they are on the verge of breaking through, send them to Bolton, see what they have got.

Owen is a shrewd manager and while others have been throwing money round like it’s going out of fashion, he knows he simply can’t afford to waste what he gets at Bolton.

He doesn’t pay over the odds for anyone but that’s not so say if he sees the right player, that he wouldn’t tell the club what price was right.

I think he did that with David Wheater when the opportunity was there to take him from Middlesbrough and I’m sure he’ll do it again next summer to really strengthen his squad.

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NOW that Gary Cahill and Johan Elmander know they are going to be Bolton Wanderers players until the summer, I expect to see them pick up their performances.

Both have looked a little distracted in the last six weeks, and while they might say all the speculation doesn’t affect them, I have been in that situation and it does.

You are always thinking “are they watching me?” and you struggle to relax into your natural game.

Nothing can happen now for a couple of months and I think it’s been great business by the club that both players now have an extra bit of competition in David Wheater and Daniel Sturridge.

Maybe that will just give them the gentle nudge they need to find their best form again.

I was surprised that neither player was picked up in January and I watched events unfold on transfer deadline day just wondering when someone would come in for them.

There are only a set number of clubs that Gary would probably move to, and when Chelsea forked out for David Luiz, I thought maybe Spurs would be the ones. Thankfully that hasn’t happened and he can put his full focus on getting back on track.

Johan has gone off the boil a bit but any striker with 10 goals to his name will be in demand, and when Newcastle lost Andy Carroll I wondered if they would have a go.

Like Gary, Johan has got to focus on getting his game right again, and then we’ll see what happens with his contract in the summer.

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LIVERPOOL might have paid over the odds for Andy Carroll but I think he’s potentially the best striker England has.

People make a lot about the £35million the club paid Newcastle for him on transfer deadline day but you've got to ask yourself – is there anything better around?

I think Carroll has got it all; he has pace, he’s good on the ball and most importantly he gets on the end of things.

If he can keep his nose clean when he’s off the pitch, then I think he will be the England number nine for a long time to come.

With Luiz Suarez coming in on the same day, it looks like Kenny Dalglish is trying to do something like a Kevin Keegan-John Toshack thing, pairing the exciting little man with the big man up front.

I don’t know whether it will do the trick or not this season, but I’ve got a feeling Liverpool have started to turn a corner and they might soon be able to battle for the top honours again.

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HEARING that Harry Redknapp is thinking about throwing Jonathan Woodgate back into the mix has left me quite optimistic about our chances at White Hart Lane.

The lad has barely played a game for two years and with William Gallas, Michael Dawson and Younes Kaboul out, there doesn’t seem to be many options for them at centre half.

Tottenham have hit a bit of a rough patch and with Gareth Bale struggling with a bad back, this might be a great time to play them.

Harry won’t be used to playing with a small squad and it might just be the place to really get our season into full swing.

After that we’ve got the replay at Wigan, which is a game we really could have done without.

But you get a couple of wins and everything is rosy – and I think being drawn away at Fulham is not bad at all for a game in the fifth round.

We’ve got a genuine chance to progress but we’ve got to get the league form right first.