Peterborough owner Darragh MacAnthony says Wanderers have been “trying to take one of my best players” this summer.

The Bolton News previously reported that a seven-figure bid for Joel Randall had been turned down by Posh and negotiations on that front had ended.

The attacking midfielder scored 12 goals and provided 11 assists last term as Darren Ferguson’s side finished fourth before coming up short against Oxford in the play-offs.

MacAnthony made the comment while discussing the strength of League One this season during an appearance on talkSPORT.

He said: “Stockport have spent a fair few quid, Wrexham have as well. Crawley have been decimated and had to recruit a lot of new players, and Mansfield aren’t short of a few quid.

“We play Huddersfield in the first game. A big club, they were in the Premier League five years ago. Birmingham are outspending everybody!

“Bolton are a massive club. They have been trying to take one of my best players for the last two months! I get the appeals of those big clubs out there, that is the beauty of our league.”

Rotherham have also been busy on the transfer front this summer as they aim to bounce back from relegation from the Championship.

Despite the financial power in the division, MacAnthony believes Posh can still put up a good fight against the clubs who have come down from the second tier.

“People have been slagging off Birmingham, Wrexham, Stockport but I never buy into that or jump on the bandwagon,” he added.

“At the end of the day, it is not always about the money spent or who invests the most. It will come down to management, football, who stays fit, who is there in the heat of the battle.

“We fell short of automatic promotion last year and that was down to injuries, those kind of issues late in the season. It is going to be exciting.

“Birmingham you would think will wrap it up by February or March, but that is now how football sometimes works.

“I think they will be one of the strongest teams in the league but there will be so many strong teams. League One is going to be the interesting league out of the EFL.”