Nicolas Anelka to join Shanghai Shenhua on two-year deal

Anelka poses with Shanghai Shenhua shirt

Striker Nicolas Anelka will join Shanghai Shenhua in January on a two-year contract after the Chinese club agreed a deal with Chelsea.

The 32-year-old was Avram Grant's first signing at Stamford Bridge in January 2008 and has scored 59 goals in 185 appearances for the London club.

His contract with Chelsea runs out in the summer and he had a transfer request accepted last week.

Shenhua have already put a picture of Anelka on the front of their website.

Anelka, who joined Chelsea in a £15m switch from Bolton, has been training apart from the first team since manager Andre Villas-Boas accepted his transfer request.

The Frenchman has scored only one goal in 15 games this season, with Didier Drogba, Daniel Sturridge and Fernando Torres preferred to him in attack.

Shanghai Shenhua finished 11th out of 16 teams in the Chinese league last season.

They are determined to win the league and have already signed Brazilian forwards Cleo and Muriqui, as well as being linked with manager Jean Tigana and a host of other high-profile players, including Anelka's Chelsea team-mate Didier Drogba.

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