Laville joins the club from Lyon

Bolton have signed French duo Pierre-Yves Andre and Florent Laville in a bid to fill the gap left by Michael Ricketts.

Ricketts on Friday agreed a �3.5m move to Middlesbrough, paving the way for Bolton boss Sam Allardyce to bring in replacements.

And Allardyce responded immediately with the acquisition of Andre, a striker from Nantes, and Lyon centre-half Laville.

The Wanderers boss has already targeted the French pairing to help keep the Premiership strugglers in the top flight.

"With the departure of Michael Ricketts, we now have a potent strikeforce with the purchases of Pierre-Yves Andre and our earlier signing Salva Ballesta," said Allardyce.

"I'm also delighted to have snapped up Florent Laville from Lyon who is a quality centre-half."

Andre arrives on loan until the end of the season and is confident he can match Ricketts.

The 28-year-old told Bolton's official website: "It's a great chance for me to perform in arguably the best league in the world.

"I hope to score the goals that will help Bolton climb up the league."

Centre-half Laville is relishing the opportunity to join up with former team-mate Bruno Ngotty.

Laville, after finalising his deal minutes before the close of the transfer deadline, said: "I'm relieved that an agreement has been reached at this very late stage."