Bolton Wanderers are considering a surprise bid for Andrew Cole, who has become unsettled by the arrival of two new strikers at Manchester City.

The 34-year-old signed a one-year contract extension at the end of last season but wants guarantees from his manager, Stuart Pearce, that he will not be pushed to the sidelines by the arrival of Bernardo Corradi from Valencia. The Italian, who agreed a three-year deal last week for an undisclosed fee, joins the free transfer Paul Dickov, who is likely to be used as a substitute, Darius Vassell and Georgios Samaras, a £6m signing from Heerenveen last January, as well as Cole, at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Cole expects next season to be his last and, understandably, does not want to spend it on the bench. He is understood to have held talks with Pearce to try to seek reassurances about where he stands.

The striker wants to stay at City, having moved back to the North-west from Fulham because his family were still settled in Cheshire, and is not seeking a move, with Pearce keen to involve him in the club's coaching set-up.

However, Bolton manager, Sam Allardyce, has become aware of the situation and may test City's resolve to hold on to Cole as he tries to bolster his own forward line. The player missed the end of last season with a knee injury but scored 10 times in 23 games and proved to be a success.

Allardyce is desperate to land an experienced goal-scorer having missed out on Andrew Johnson, and has already been linked with a move for Nicolas Anelka, although he is more likely to move to Portsmouth if he returns to England. Allardyce has already said he is holding back in the transfer market to make sure he signs a top-class striker.

The interest will cause irritation for Pearce although there was good news for him yesterday as he was able to announce that both Joey Barton and Micah Richards had signed new contracts.

Both had been linked with moves away from City with Barton, who agreed a four-year deal, having handed in a transfer request last January. His deal has taken seven months to negotiate, with the 23-year-old and his agent, Willie McKay, coming in for widespread criticism for dragging the matter out.

Barton, who has had a troubled off-the-field past, is understood to have doubled his money to £30,000 a week and Pearce said: "There has been a vast improvement in Joey's conduct. He is more mature than he was at Christmas, with the way he carries himself on and off the pitch. Joey will be the first to admit he has made mistakes but I can only applaud his attitude this pre-season."

Richards, who like Barton came through the club's academy, has been tracked by Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur - who had a £5m bid rejected. The 18-year-old defender has also agreed a four-year deal.

"There has been interest from other clubs in Micah but in our favour is the fact we give young players a chance," Pearce said.