Chairman Phil Gartside has questioned whether Bolton would even be in existence without major shareholder Eddie Davies, following the club-record signing of Johan Elmander.

Wanderers boss Gary Megson took his summer spending to around the £15million mark with the capture of the Sweden striker which followed the arrival of £5million midfielder Fabrice Muamba.

Isle of Man-based businessman Davies has continued to bankroll the club throughout their Premier League era and having already sanctioned the purchases of Elmander and Muamba, he is intent on ensuring Bolton remain a top-flight force.

Gartside said: "If it wasn't for Eddie, we could even not be in existence, that is how crucial it was when he joined the club 10 years ago.

"He has put more personal investment into Bolton than any other person in the history of the club, relative to the period he has supported us.

"Basically, he is a fan and the reason for him being involved is that he wants to have fun, he wants Bolton to survive and he doesn't want to lose his money - as long as we keep going with those three promises we expect him to keep supporting us for some time to come."

Gartside added: "Johan's arrival represents a record fee for the club and is Gary's sixth signing since January.

"We have had scouts at all the tournaments in the summer and we have had discussions with players and football clubs to rejig the squad and bring in players that Gary wants.

"We have a hit-list of players and positions but it is not a one-year task - it has to be done over a period.

"We don't have a huge chequebook but what we are doing is bringing in better quality than we have lost to improve the squad."

Although the Trotters survived last season, relegation had looked certain at one point.

Once Nicolas Anelka left for Chelsea in January, they had no-one to score goals.

But Megson feels he has remedied that problem by landing Elmander in a deal worth £10million, shattering the club record which brought Anelka to the north-west in the first place.

"Johan is a player I have admired for a long time," said Megson.

"He is a player who will get us goals and also create other opportunities for his team-mates."

Megson originally tried to sign Elmander during the January transfer window once it became clear Anelka's departure was inevitable.

However, at the time he was unable to persuade Toulouse to part with the 27-year-old, who has been at Euro 2008.

Having scored on a regular basis in France, Holland and Denmark, where he earned league and cup winners' medals at Brondby, Elmander has the experience to go with his talent.

He caught the eye with a hat-trick against Bordeaux which saw Toulouse qualify for last season's Champions League and Megson has been prepared to allow Daniel Braaten to leave England as a makeweight in the deal, ending his own ill-fated spell at Bolton.

Megson has pledged the work to strengthen his resources will continue, adding: "I am still on the lookout for other players to boost the quality of our squad."