SAM Allardyce is back at his desk at the Reebok after a sunshine break but his thoughts were no doubt still abroad.

A number of his players are still playing competitive football, with three of them in action on Wednesday night.

Jussi Jaaskelainen will line up in goal for Finland against Holland, while Stelios is expected to be in the Greece line-up that takes on Ukraine, both games World Cup qualifiers.

But Sam will also have more than a passing interest in his teenage striker Ricardo Vaz Te. He could play a major role for Portugal in the semi-final with Mexico at the Toulon Under 20s tournament and the 19-year-old put himself straight into the running for the player of the tournament award with a hat-trick in his side's opening game against South Korea.

Allardyce is keen to bolster his strikeforce and although talks with El-Hadji Diouf are currently on hold until the player returns from World Cup duties with Senegal, Vaz Te could be an important part of the club's future plans.

That was underlined when another reported Allardyce target, Southampton's Peter Crouch, was priced at £6.5m in response to an enquiry from Liverpool.

Vaz Te's exploits with Portugal and his prowess in front of goal is starting to make people take notice, and he wants to do the same with Bolton.

"I hope I get more goals," he said. "That would open many doors for me at Bolton.

"And after playing some games last season, I am looking for more. When I get back I will try to get in the starting XI for the first game of the season."