FOOTBALL'S failing finances could spark a return to Bolton buying British.

Wanderers fielded a totally foreign team for the first time in the club's history at Sunderland last Saturday.

It was a stark illustration at how Sam Allardyce has concentrated his buying on overseas markets in recent times.

Allardyce knows that buying from abroad poses many problems with language and cultural differences but it has been a case of needs must, triggered by the explosion in the transfer values of players contracted to English clubs.

The home transfer market has imploded this season as clubs seek to cut their costs to bring their own individual finances into line.

That has seen the price of English players crash as clubs seek to move highly paid players.

Evidence of the changing times came in the January transfer window when hardly any players changed hands for money and the development has alerted Allardyce to the fact that he could soon be able to afford players from these shores as easily as those from abroad.

Allardyce has become a notorious player on the world markets and, in Youri Djorkaeff, Jay-Jay Okocha and Ivan Campo, has brought players of top quality and pedigree to the Reebok.

In the transfer window he continued the trend by recruiting another three foreigners on wages only and the Euxton training ground has become the footballing equivalent of the United Nations.

How times have changed since they won the cup in 1958 with 11 Englishmen and a whole batch of Lancashire lads.

The return to affordable Brits could begin to reverse the trend in the summer with Allardyce admitting he will be looking at potential English signings.

He said: "We just don't spend money on transfer fees so we have had to concentrate on the world market.

"If there are English players out of contract we would be interested in them.

"If we can stay in the Premiership this season there may be more English-based players out of contract this time that we would be interested in because they fall within our budget."

Explaining his signing policy, he added: "It is plain and simple. There is a player you want; how much does he cost?

"Does he fall into our budget? If he does then is he good enough? Perhaps he is not top quality but he is as good or better than the English alternative.

"On the other hand there are extremely difficult problems to overcome when you sign foreign players such as the language and cultural differences but we seem to be managing and coping extremely well."