After growing up in Toxteth, Liverpool, Nolan signed for Bolton Wanderers at the age of 16. Part of the team that beat Preston North End in the 2001 First Division play-offs to gain promotion to the Premier League, he soon became a regular first-team player for the club. He scored as Bolton beat Manchester United at Old Trafford in both of his first two seasons in the top tier of English football, as well as important goals that helped Bolton regularly finish in the top half of the Premier League table.