Bolton Wanderers boss Owen Coyle's transfer plans are being hamstrung by Gary Cahill failing to get a move away.
The Bolton News says it is no great secret around the Reebok that the Whites are planning for life next season without the towering England international at the heart of their defence.
While Coyle maintains consistently that he would love to see the 25-year-old Yorkshireman again when the players return for pre-season on July 4 - a large part of him must have believed that was never going to happen when the pair shook hands after the Player of the Year awards at the end of last month.
Yet 12 days before he lays out the first set of cones at Euxton, Coyle is no closer to knowing if Cahill will be returning to the fold, or indeed whether he can count on the funds generated from the deal to perform his own rebuilding job.
