Wolves have lodged a formal complaint with the Premier League and Football Association over the departure of academy defender Mark Connolly to Bolton.

The clubs agreed a deal on transfer deadline day, believed to be for an initial fee of £400,000 rising to £1.25m, for the 17-year-old centre-back.

But Wolves believe there has been a breach of Premier League and FA rules regarding “unapproved communication with, and an illegal approach for” a player who was a scholar at the club’s academy.

Wolves chief executive Jez Moxey said today: “We have lodged an official letter of complaint, supported by considerable amounts of documentary evidence, with both the Premier League and the FA.

“This complaint relates to Bolton Wanderers and their assistant manager Chris Evans, a former Wolves employee.

“We allege that there has been a breach of the Premier League and FA rules in place to protect a club’s academy programme, maintain player contract stability and prevent illegal approaches of players.”

Wolves are incensed at losing what they considered a top talent and the club hope to make a stand by launching the formal protest.

“It is not an issue about money or the level of compensation we received for a player we did not want to leave; it is about the protection of the club’s academy programme and its development of young players, something which is of paramount importance to us at Wolves,” added Moxey.

“We cannot sit on our hands and allow the events surrounding Mark Connolly’s departure to pass unchallenged or unnoticed.”