Sam Allardyce was relieved the club's persistence had paid off after Nicolas Anelka signed a four-year deal with Bolton who agreed to pay a club record £8million to Fenerbahce.
The 27-year-old, who has had previous stints in England with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, successfully completed a medical with Wanderers to become their record signing, the fee dwarfing the previous top mark of £3.5million paid to Wimbledon for Dean Holdsworth in 1997.
The striker will now travel to London to meet his new team-mates ahead of their game with Charlton at The Valley.
Bolton manager Sam Allardyce told the club's official website, www.bwfc.co.uk: "Patience is a virtue and I am pleased to say that all the waiting and hard work we've done behind the scenes has paid off. Nicolas is a player with an amazing track record in the Premiership: he was born to score goals.
"His talent and experience will be a valuable asset for us. I'd also like to thank (club owner) Eddie Davies and our chairman Phil Gartside. It's an unprecedented amount of money for Bolton Wanderers to spend and fully underlines the club's ambition."
The France international, who has had a somewhat controversial career, returns to England after an 18-month stint in Turkey who he joined from Manchester City.
