Bolton Wanderers paid £3m for a Team GB Olympian – his life now looks completely different

Marvin Sordell was once sought-after by then-Premier League club Bolton Wanderers but his life and career turned out very differently.

Back in January 2012, Bolton Wanderers were looking for a saviour in their battle against Premier League relegation and they turned to Watford striker Marvin Sordell.

Bolton had been challenging for Europe and in an FA Cup semi-final the previous season but injuries and key departure in the summer derailed their second full season under the management of former striker Owen Coyle.

Coyle's Trotters found themselves in a relegation dog-fight without much firepower, with a reliance on the ageing Kevin Davies and Ivan Klasnic.

Tuncay and David N'Gog didn't fill the void left by the likes of Johan Elmander, Daniel Sturridge and even Rodrigo - so they opted to splash the cash on Watford striker Marvin Sordell.

Action Image

Having been in the academy at Fulham and then Watford, Marvin Sordell broke through into professional football with the latter in 2009 at the age of 18.

Having been on the periphery of things but pushing through, Sordell established himself as a key man in the 2010-11 campaign as he hit double figures for goals in a season where he turned 20 in the Championship as The Hornets finished 14th.

Sordell then scored a further eight goals in the first half of the following season, taking on more responsibility after the sale of Danny Graham to Swansea City in the summer of 2011.

As a result, Bolton believed that Sordell would be the answer to their problems as The Whites scrambled a £3 million deal over the line on the final day of the January transfer window.

Sordell was one of the brightest young strikers in the Football League and was a regular for England's U21 side under the management of Stuart Pearce.

A torrid time of it at Bolton for Marvin Sordell

Arriving at Bolton as someone who appeared destined to not only feature regularly in the Premier League but also play for England; Bolton fans would have been forgiven for believing they had landed one of England's next best things after the success of Daniel Sturridge's loan from Chelsea the previous campaign.

Instead, though, Sordell immediately struggled to settle up in Lancashire as a young player and the pressure of a tough run in did not aid him in his quest to establish himself at Wanderers.

The cardiac arrest of Fabrice Muamba in March left the entire club under an inevitable and understandable cloud - and it is one that they could not fight out of as they succumbed to relegation, ending an 11-year stint in the top-flight with Sordell barely featuring and failing to score in just the three appearances he was given by Coyle.

Regardless, a full pre-season and ready to hit the ground running for one of the pre-season title favourites, Sordell was still expected to be a hit as Bolton rebuilt but that never came. Especially with Sordell having increased his pedigree by representing Team GB at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Fleeting moments of quality primarily shown under Dougie Freedman with Coyle sacked in October did little to win over supporters and a fractious relationship continued to spiral until he left on loan for Charlton Athletic ahead of the following campaign after Wanderers had missed out on the top six and the play-off places on the final day of the season.

After a season at The Valley, Bolton cut their losses and allowed a cut-price move across Lancashire to Burnley, returning to the Premier League, where he went goalless in 14 top-flight appearances for Sean Dyche's Clarets before they too shipped him on the following summer after their relegation.

Short stints at Colchester United and Coventry City followed before a reasonable spell for Nigel Clough's Burton Albion over the next few years.

However, a loan stint at Northampton Town in the 2018-19 season would be his last involvement in professional football for five years before he returned to play for Kettering Town in non-league, as well as stints at Rayners Lane and AS London before moving to Uxbridge - concluding a bizarre and once very promising career.

A new life for Marvin Sordell

Action Images.

In those five years between leaving the Pirelli Stadium and opting to seemingly play for the love of the game in non-league, Marvin Sordell had and has moved into a new life altogether.

Now a businessman and an entrepreneur, Sordell is the co-founder of two companies which he has built up; SWOOP and ONEIGHTY.

The former is a sports marketing company and the latter being a film production company that has given Sordell a completely new phase in life beyond and after football, working with leading brands such as both Adidas and David Beckham. This combined with also being involved in the 'Baller League', playing for Deportrio in 2026.

Like many unfulfilled stars of the EFL, Sordell was once tipped for great things off the pitch but after failing to reach heights suggested, he instead has found heights off the pitch.