Sammy Considers Future Anelka Sale

By Mark Heys
July 20 2007

Nicolas Anelka may be sold off by Bolton Wanderers in the future if the club receives a substantial offer from a Champions League club looking to recruit the services of the French international striker.

Anelka recently stated that he was happy to remain as part of the Bolton squad but speculation still persists regarding the future of the much travelled front man.

Wanderers manager Sammy Lee states that he will do his upmost to keep Anelka at the club but realises that the 28-year old will want to play back at the very top level.

"I have to be fair to him, he is 29 and told me he wants Champions League football. So do I, with Bolton. But if one of the top four in England or a Champions League club in Europe showed an interest, it would be wrong of me to stand in his way."

Lee was quick to stress that he wasn't touting his player for transfer, merely stating that he would be in a position to sell if the offer was too good to turn down.

"You don't have to be a Philadelphia lawyer to work that out. I want people with quality and Nicolas has that. I'm not in the business of getting rid of our best players but I have to be fair to everybody. If the deal was fair to all parties, I would not stop him."

Anelka's former manager Arsene Wenger has ruled out bringing the player back to Arsenal where he was a hit as a teenager between 1997 and 1999.

The Gunners have brought Eduardo da Silva to the Emirates Stadium this summer and expect Niklas Bendtner to make the regular breakthrough over the next twelve months.

When asked about the speculation surrounding Anelka, Wenger replied "No, we have signed Eduardo, We do not collect strikers, we buy strikers we need. This season, we also expect Nicklas Bendtner to step forward and show us some aspects of his talent,"