Bolton Wanderers have submitted a new contract offer to Ben Alnwick, according to a reliable football journalist.

Alan Nixon is reporting that Alnwick will be offered an extension by Bolton as they hope to fend off interest from Sunderland.

The 31-year-old had a brilliant year for Bolton, helping his side stay up with reliable performances between the sticks in his 41 games this term.

His displays earned him the Player of the Season award for the 2017/18 campaign.

With his contract coming to an end, recently-relegated Sunderland were hoping to bring him back to the club for their season in League One.

The Prudhoe-born goalkeeper started his career at The Stadium of Light after progressing through the academy and played 22 times for the Black Cats before his move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Since then, the former England under-21 international had a number of loan spells away from White Hart Lane before permanent stints with Barnsley, Charlton Athletic, Leyton Orient and Peterborough United.

Alnwick joined Bolton in summer 2016 and played 26 games for the club, helping them win promotion to the Championship before playing a pivotal role in keeping them up this year.

Bolton recently released Mark Howard but they have offered Alnwick a new deal in the hope that he will favour a stay in the second tier rather than a return to Sunderland.

The Verdict

This would have been the perfect opportunity for Sunderland to wipe the slate clean and start afresh with their goalkeepers.

Camp would return after a dreadful loan and it would be time to let Steele and Ruiter go as well, with Alnwick making a return to his first club to take the number one spot while Max Stryjek deputises and learns from him.

And Bolton will be delighted by this news, not least because Howard is going, Ben Amos is likely to be sold (possibly back to Charlton) and Jake Turner is not quite ready to be number one yet.

Bolton and Sunderland fans - What do you make of this news story? Let us know below...