Bolton right to pursue highly-regarded Freedman

Bolton's search for a new manager to succeed the sacked Owen Coyle has so far proved fruitless but they appear to be barking up the right tree going after Crystal Palace's Dougie Freedman.

The Trotters look to have made the highly-rated Eagles boss their number one target after several other, more high-profile, names were initially linked with the post in the wake of the popular Coyle's departure.

Mick McCarthy, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and even Sven Goran Eriksson were mentioned in latest odds as possible contenders for the Bolton job.

Clearly, the under-performing Lancashire club are keen to go down the route so many other teams seem to want to go down now, and make an up-and-coming young British coach their new manager.

And, in this case, their judgement seems spot on, but whether they will be able to lure him to The Reebok or not remains very much up in the air.

Palace initially refused to allow Bolton to speak to their former striker and are, understandably, desperate to keep hold of Freedman, who has managed to guide them up to fourth in an ultra-competitive and extremely tight Championship so far this season.

This comes after the firm fans' favourite, who is only 38, lead Palace to the last four of the League Cup last season, which included a famous win at Manchester United, something that further marked him out as one of the brightest young managers around.

Palace insiders say Freedman, a favourite of the odds betting community, is a methodical, open and intelligent modern coach, who does his best to utilise all the tools available to him to make a success of the job at Selhurst Park. Judging by what he has done already, he seems to be learning quickly and his methods are undoubtedly getting positive results.

He may decide to stay where he is for now, viewing the Bolton job as only an equal position to the one he already has and don't bet against him leading Palace into contention for a promotion spot later in the season if he opts to continue the job he has started so well.

On the other hand, Bolton may get their man after they were eventually granted permission to speak to him.

But one thing's for sure, it looks like the talented Freedman's career will continue on a swift upward curve, whoever he is in charge of.