Bolton Wanderers legend would've cost as much as Jack Grealish - there was "no player" like him | OneFootball

FLW's Bolton Wanderers fan pundit has discussed how much their former star would be worth in today's market

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Jay-Jay Okocha was one of the most exciting players to watch in the Premier League during the early 2000s, and his name is etched in Bolton Wanderers history as a result.

The tricky Nigerian is still talked about today as one of the most skilful players to ever play in the top flight, and Bolton Wanderers fans must still wonder how they managed to bring him in on a free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain in 2002.

Okocha and Sam Allardyce, on paper, were a chalk-and-cheese combination, but the winger played some great football under the former England boss, and the Trotters made a trip to Wembley in the 2004 League Cup final and had a few European tours with the Nigerian in the side.

The legacy of his unique flair and craft lives on at the Toughsheet Stadium and beyond to this very day, with Okocha regarded among the finest players in Bolton's history.

It's always an interesting topic to discuss what the value of players whose primes were a couple of decades ago would be worth in the current market, given the inflation of fees since the early 2000s.

Therefore, Football League World has asked their Bolton fan pundit, Liam O'Meara, how much he would value their former wideman in today's market.

Jay-Jay Okocha would've been worth the same as Jack Grealish today - Bolton Wanderers claim issued

O'Meara was quick to sing the praises of Okocha, who made 145 appearances over his four years at Bolton. In his opinion, the start of his tenure at the then-Reebok Stadium, when he was in the prime years of his career, was the most influential.

"When Jay-Jay Okocha signed for Bolton, he was 28 years old, and his impact was greater at the start of that spell than it was towards the end of it," he said.

"Those first two seasons, particularly, he was magnificent at a club where, realistically, he could have been playing at a higher level in the Premier League."

O'Meara decided to base the price tag on who plays similarly to Okocha in the current landscape of football. Whilst he felt that this was a difficult task, he settled on former £100 million man Jack Grealish, who joined Manchester City for that fee from Aston Villa four years ago.

Whilst he didn't put a nine-figure fee on the Nigerian, he felt that right now Grealish's price tag matches what Okocha could be worth today.

"You look at comparable players when working out how much to value Okocha, and I would say that a comparable player right now is Jack Grealish," he said.

"He can impact games and has that main character energy, particularly now that he's at Everton, but it's difficult because there really was no player like Okocha.

"So that's who I'd look at. Manchester City wants £50 million, Everton might pay around £40-45 million, so I'd say a 28-year-old Okocha at Bolton would be worth £40-45 million."

Bolton Wanderers legend Jay-Jay Okocha was truly a one-of-a-kind star

Especially in today's market, many may feel that O'Meara has undervalued Okocha, because, as he put it, there really weren't many players as influential as he was.

After being a big part of the Bolton side that avoided relegation in the 2002/03 campaign, scoring seven times, including on their final day win at Middlesbrough, which ensured they stayed up, he helped the Trotters to some of their more memorable recent years.

Multiple top-half Premier League finishes, a couple of UEFA Cup runs, and a League Cup final all happened with the Nigerian in the side, and whilst he wasn't known for scoring lots of goals, his ability to create chances out of nothing was unlike anyone else.

Bolton fans were lucky to see Okocha work his magic week in, week out for four years, and to many, his contributions were worth more than just £40 million. In fact, they may have been priceless.