Anelka set to play in China’s Super League

SHANGHAI - Shanghai Shenhua FC has reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign French striker Nicolas Anelka on a two-year deal, the Chinese Super League football side said yesterday.

The 32-year-old will join Shenhua in January, the club said in a statement on its Web site.

Shanghai, who finished 11th in the league last season, has also been linked with Didier Drogba, Anelka’s teammate at Chelsea.

Several Chinese clubs have reportedly contacted Ivory Coast international Drogba about a possible transfer. Last month, Drogba refused a one-year extension to his contract at Chelsea and the 33-year-old’s deal at the London club expires next year.

Local media have reported that former Arsenal and Real Madrid striker Anelka’s lucrative contract would involve both football and commercial cooperation.

While the signing of Anelka may signal an upswing for the sport in the country, Chinese football has lurched from crisis to crisis in recent years and disaffected fans have turned away from the game amid corruption scandals, match-fixing and violence on and off the pitch.

Reuters