 After failing to impress in France, Monaco declined the option to recruit Puygrenier permanently, and he returned to Zenit who made it known that he was instantly available for transfer, even being described as 'definitely a mistake of our scouts' by general director Maxim Mitrofanov, who also criticised the defender for refusing to lower his wage demands in order to engineer a move away from the club despite having no prospects of achieving any playing time and not being considered a part of the Zenit squad by manager Luciano Spalletti.In January 2009, he joined Bolton Wanderers on loan for the rest of the season.His first goal for Bolton came on 31 January, in a 3–2 home victory over Tottenham Hotspur.