The Chinese official newspaper, China Daily, publishes the news that one of their top teams, Shanghai Shenhua, is interested in signing Nicolas Anelka. Officially.
And this news is more than a rumour, it is the Sporting Director of the club, Zhou Jun, who reveals plans for the next season and that they would like to sign Anelka. There has been somewhat fevered speculation as to which names would be on the list for a week now, and Mr Jun has now put those rumours to bed.
Anelka`s contract with Chelsea ends in July next year, but the local press is stating that Anelka is prepared to revoke the rest of his contract during the winter transfer window in order to join the Chinese club as soon as possible. According to these accounts, Shanghai Shenhua has therefore jumped to the head of a queue of suitors that includes Milan and Tottenham: Mr Jun states that “we currently have a lead over the other clubs that are interested in signing him but we can`t guarantee anything until the end. We hope that everything will be resolved by January 1st”.
Should he decide to go to Shanghai Shenhua, Anelka would be joining a football club that is owned by Jun Zhu, a local internet billionaire. The club is apparently twinned with Atlético Madrid. Despite the club`s wealth, however, the club has not won anything since 1998 when they lifted the China Club, and last season the club finished 11th out of the 16 clubs in the League. Shanghai Shenhua are also trying to bring in ex-Fulham coach Jean Tigana, who was over there inspecting the facilities earlier this week.
Another big name who has been linked to Shanghái Shenhua is former Real Madrid bad boy, Guti, but that particular signing is denied. Having left Besiktas, where he has been playing for the last year and a half, Shanghai Shenhua were rumoured to be interested in the Spanish midfielder. ‘Its not a strange rumour, our League is attracting more and more people` said Mr Jen.
Should Nicolas Anelka leave, we would (of course) be sorry to lose a player who has always been quite a model professional for Chelsea and whose 4 seasons with us, astonishingly, represent the longest he has stayed at any club. However, at his age and with the changes at Chelsea, Anelka would find opportunities at Stamford Bridge few and far between. We would wish him good luck in his Chinese adventure.
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