Former Wanderers midfielder Josh Vela admits he had "seen everything" during his time at the UniBol.

Vela joined the Whites’ youth ranks at the age of nine and went on to make 182 senior appearances for the club.

He left the UniBol in the summer of 2019 and had a spell in Scotland with Hibernian before heading to Shrewsbury.

The midfielder made the move to Fleetwood over the summer and could come up against his former club at the weekend.

He told the club’s website: “I’ve seen everything at Bolton. I was an eight-year-old when I first joined the club and I worked my way to the first team.

“I went from six months not getting paid to then gaining promotion from League One, so I’ve had some really good times and obviously not so good times.

“It was a challenging time obviously, not just for the players but the staff and the people who work at the club. It was 24 hours away from going bust and not having a Bolton Wanderers anymore.

“It’s a club that’s close to my heart and I look back on my times there with good memories. I made some great friends that are still friends now, so I’m looking forward to coming against them this weekend.

“Like I said they are on the way back up now, I think. I loved my time at Bolton. I nearly made 200 appearances for them and I always look out for their results."

Fleetwood are currently 16th in the League One table and enter the game on the back of a 2-2 draw against Bristol Rovers last weekend, with Shaun Rooney bagging a brace including a dramatic equaliser in the ninth minute of stoppage time.

Vela reckons Ian Evatt’s men could be “right up there” come the end of the season and is relishing the fixture.

He added: “Obviously, Bolton are going to be right up there as well. They’re a team who are going to be wanting to get into the Championship, so it’s going to be another good test for us.”