West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce admits interest in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Nicolas-Anelka-c27786
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce admitted he was interested in signing Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka, whose transfer request has apparently been accepted by the club. If the reports are correct, then Anelka could be leaving the club in the upcoming
winter transfer window or in the summer when his contract expires.
Allardyce said while speaking to reporters:
“If Nicolas is available, I'd be massively interested.”
Allardyce admitted he was interested in the 32-year-old striker, who despite being one of the older players still had a couple of years in him. He revealed that while he was interested in Anelka, he had not yet contacted the Blues regarding the forward.
He admitted:
“I've not contacted Chelsea and am just looking at the situation with January looming. It would be an end-of-season pursuit rather than next month.”
The reason for that was the fact that West Ham United are currently in the Championship, having been relegated last season and Allardyce is aware that Anelka will not want to play in the second tier of English football. That is why Allardyce wants to wait
until the summer so he can cash in on a free signing when his side will be playing football in the English Premier League.
Allardyce continued:
“We need to get into the Premier League - and then we'd have a better chance of signing someone of Nicolas' quality.”
Anelka joined the Blues in the January transfer window of 2011 for a fee of £15 million from Bolton Wanderers and since then has gone on to make 125 appearances in the Premier League and has scored 38 goals during that time. While he initially failed to
strike up a partnership with http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Didier-Drogba-c11044, he has proved to be crucial for Chelsea in the past seasons.
He was especially effective in the 2008-2009 season when he finished top goal scorer for the Blues in the absence of Didier Drogba, scoring 25 goals in all competitions. Despite having an impressive record, manager Andre Villas-Boas does not feel he has
any use for the Frenchman and has given him the green light to leave Stamford Bridge.
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