Missing Ferrie returns for talks

By sware stephen ware stephen.ware@swwmedia.co.uk

FERRIE Bodde was back in Swansea and poised for crunch talks with Paulo Sousa last night — as Bolton prepared another bid for the playmaker.

The Dutch midfielder was originally due to meet his new boss on Monday, but chose to remain in Holland and miss the start of pre-season training.

That came after Swansea rejected a £2.5m approach from Bolton for the 27-year-old, blocking his path to the Premier League.

Swansea's Portuguese boss, who had still to meet the player, branded his absence disrespectful, while Bodde's representatives hit back claiming Swansea were "ridiculous" to place a £5m valuation on his head.

Bodde has since tried to defuse the situation by suggesting there had been a misunderstanding and that he was always supposed to stay in Holland — where he had been receiving treatment — until yesterday.

Chairman Huw Jenkins also attempted to calm the storm, eager to avoid a repeat of last summer when Swansea's tug-of-war with Derby over Bodde dominated the back pages and disrupted pre-season preparations.