Bolton sign Swansea's Pratley

Bolton Wanderers made their first pre-season signing Friday when Darren Pratley joined on a four-year deal from newly promoted Premier League rivals Swansea. The 26-year-old midfielder made 199 appearances during a five-year spell with the Welsh club, his last being the Championship playoff final win over Reading at Wembley. "We're delighted to have Darren here," Bolton manager Owen Coyle said. "A number clubs were interested in him and we are pleased to have secured his services." Pratley said leaving Swansea was the biggest move of his career. "It was nice to leave Swansea on a high after gaining promotion to the Premier League and I'm now looking forward to showing the fans what I can do here," he said. "It was the biggest decision of my footballing career so far to leave Swansea," Pratley added. "I enjoyed playing and living there and the club have been extremely good to me. "It was always going to be a big decision for me regardless of whether Swansea got promoted or not. "What's important to me is that I join Bolton as a Premier League player after that playoff final. "I was delighted to have gained promotion with Swansea. I leave there wishing them well and I'd like to thank everyone there for supporting me. "Now I'm really looking forward to Monday and getting into training and meeting the lads. "I managed to get 12 in my last season with Swansea. Hopefully I can continue to score goals from midfield at Bolton."