Wanderers 2, WEST BROM 0: Reebok fans are going to see a lot of Hidetoshi Nakata's winning smile, if Sam Allardyce gets his way next January.

The Wanderers boss is already planning to negotiate a deal with the Italian club, Fiorentina, to convert the Japan international's season-long loan into a permanent transfer.

The only worry is that, if Nakata continues to produce performances of the calibre that sank West Brom at the Reebok on Sunday, the asking price is likely to rocket.

For Big Sam has no doubt that the 28-year-old midfielder not only has the talent to become an important player for Wanderers, but also has the creative class to take Jay Jay Okocha's mantle - and that is really saying something.

"One would really hope he could do that," Allardyce said of Nakata's prospects of assuming the role of playmaker.

"Obviously it's quality on the ball in the final third that you are looking for and he proved that for us yesterday, more than anybody else."

Nakata sported a delightful grin after capping his best Bolton performance yet with his first goal in English football - a clever free kick Okocha would have been proud of - to put the Whites back on Premiership track.

It was a long time coming - 81 minutes in fact - and an anxious Allardyce, not to mention the vast majority of the Reebok crowd, was starting to wonder if the breakthrough would come at all. But West Brom could have no complaints, even after Kevin Nolan doubled the damage with an unstoppable right-footer 10 minutes later to claim a thoroughly-deserved personal reward for an inspired performance as stand-in captain.

Baggies boss, Bryan Robson, had a whinge, arguing that Martin Albrechtsen did nothing wrong when he barged Nakata to the ground to concede the decisive free kick, and told referee Mike Dean that he had cost Albion the match.

But Wanderers were good value for their fifth league win in 10 games. They were far and away the better side and, thanks to Nakata, fashioned the best of the scoring chances by a ratio of five to two.

Nakata is just taking it all in his elegant stride, seemingly more concerned with getting Wanderers back in winning mood after successive defeats at Springfield Park and Stamford Bridge.

"I'm happy with the result because it was very important for us to win after losing against Wigan and Chelsea," he said.

"I'm happy with the goal but more important is that I get used to the system and the Premiership and I'm doing that slowly with every match that passes.

"But I don't need to rush. The team has been doing well, even though we have lost some matches, which we could have won, but I still think we are in a good position.

"I don't need to show anything, though. If I enjoy playing, I can play well and I think I am enjoying it at the moment."

Allardyce is convinced that, if Nakata stays happy, it will help him strike the right deal with Fiorentina.

"I hope we can," he said. "We will look at that early in the transfer window in January.

"But, if he continues like this, he would be a good capture for us indeed. He is realising one of his dreams by playing in the Premiership and, if he is doing that with Bolton and helping us stay in the top half of the table, then all well and good.

"One of the reasons for bringing him here was that he'd had seven years in Italy and been involved in multi-million pound transfers over that time, he'd had good performances in the Confederations Cup and the price was right.

"But he had worked with us and his agent to get that price right. He had the determination and the will to want to play in the Premiership and that helped the financial package.

"Speaking to the player himself, he showed his commitment as a human being, not just as a footballer, and that made it very easy to say Yes' to him."

Nakata would have been celebrating his maiden goal for Wanderers much sooner had Stelios not inadvertently got in the way of his goal-bound shot in the 29th minute when Abdoulaye Faye, outstanding in the holding midfield role, teed up what looked a certain goal.

With Chris Kirkland already having stuck out a leg to deny Kevin Davies, Wanderers looked to be out of scoring luck.

They had enjoyed a huge slice of good fortune at the other end, though, when Diomansy Kamara - Albion's all-action attacker - skied a retaken penalty over the bar after having his first effort disallowed because Geoff Horsfield had encroached into the area.

Allardyce felt justice was done, anyway, believing El-Hadji Diouf's challenge on Kamara was fair - no worse, in fact, than Nakata's challenge on the same player five minutes before half-time, which went unpunished.

But he was still concerned that, for all the chances they created, Wanderers just could not get the breakthrough. Kirkland produced an impressive one-handed save to deny Nolan, Bruno N'Gotty ended up on his backside, instead of the ball ending in the back of the Albion net, and three separate penalty appeals were waved away by Mr Dean.

And all the time there was the danger that Albion might cause an upset on the break, which they would have done had Jussi Jaaskelainen not been alert to the Kamara threat in the 65th minute.

But Allardyce got his sums right. Having made seven changes for the UEFA Cup game in Besiktas and returned from Turkey with a well-deserved draw, he made six more, rotating his squad to keep his players fresh for the demands of European and domestic football.

And it paid off with Jaaskelainen, N'Gotty, Henrik Pedersen and Kevin Davies - all rested in Istanbul - playing key roles as Wanderers made it two wins out of three in weekend Premiership games after playing in Europe.

But Allardyce also got high-energy performances from players who went the distance against Besiktas - Nakata taking the scoring honours but Faye, central to the defensive success in midweek, outstanding in midfield this time, while Joey O'Brien, showed his versatility at right back, allowing Tal Ben Haim to revert to his favoured centre-back position.

The manager will change his team again on Wednesday, when West Ham visit the Reebok in the third round of the Carling Cup, and will, no doubt, swap things round at Charlton on Saturday.

But who can possibly argue with a strategy that, despite Okocha, Gary Speed, Nicky Hunt and Ivan Campo being out of commission, is getting results?