Bassini has been confident about doing a deal to buy the club from Ken Anderson, even after a repeated failure to provide proof of funds last week.

It seems Bassini is no nearer doing a deal so, unless there is another twist, it looks likely that Bolton will be going into administration at some point in the next 24 hours.

They are due back in the High Court on Wednesday over an unpaid tax bill.

The winding-up petition brought by HM Revenue & Customs, who are owed £1.2m, has already been adjourned twice.

Former Watford owner Bassini's intended purchase of the relegated Championship club was originally announced on 17 April, but Bolton owner Anderson released a statement on 27 April saying if Bassini did not provide proof of funds in the subsequent two days, he would explore other options.

Bassini then committed to provide the English Football League with proof of funds within 48 hours on Tuesday, but on Thursday the club issued a statement saying nothing further had been presented for the EFL Board to consider and that they considered his approach had come to an end.

That was disputed by Bassini, who claimed he was in control of the club. The EFL said on Friday that they were "aware" of Bassini's comments but there have been no further official updates since then.