Chelsea complete £15m Anelka deal

Chelsea have completed a £15m deal to sign Bolton striker Nicolas Anelka. The 28-year-old has signed a four-and -a-half year contract in time to figure in Saturday’s home game against Spurs.

Bolton had rejected a £12m bid from Chelsea, who wanted Anelka as cover for Didier Drogba, who is with the Ivory Coast at the African Cup on Nations.

Salomon Kalou is also away on international duty and Andriy Shevchenko is injured, leaving boss Avram Grant short of options.

Shevchenko and Claudio Pizzaro, their other senior forward, have scored five Premier League goals between them this season.

Birmingham 1-0 Bolton

Birmingham secured their first home league win of the season thanks to Olivier Kapo’s close-range effort. The excellent Sebastian Larsson clipped in a pin-point cross for the unmarked Kapo, who stretched to poke home.

The hosts were rarely troubled by a lacklustre Bolton side whose best chance was a Daniel Braaten run and shot that was blocked by Stephen Kelly.

Larsson hit the bar from a free-kick and despite a late siege on their goal, the Blues held out for a deserved win.

Ferdinand: Bolton will survive

Former Bolton Wanderers striker Les Ferdinand has backed the club to recover from a poor start to the season.

 Sammy Lee’s team are second-bottom of the Barclays Premier League table, with three points from their first five matches.

But Ferdinand, who played for Wanderers from July 2004 to January 2005, has every confidence the talent is there to ensure they pull clear of the bottom three.

“Nicolas Anelka is capable of scoring against anyone and there are some big personalities in the dressing room,” he said. “Having spent a bit of time with the players there, I know what their mentality and focus is.

“Gary Speed is a wise old head and with Kevin Nolan as the skipper these guys are winners.”

source:premierleague

Helguson blow for Bolton

Bolton Wanderers striker Heidar Helguson is set to be sidelined for up to seven weeks after ankle surgery.

The Iceland international has started one match for Bolton and been a substitute in two more since joining the club from Fulham this summer, scoring in the 2-1 defeat against his old team last month.

Bolton right-back Nicky Hunt is also set for a spell on the sidelines after spraining his ankle during Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at home to Everton. Trotters’ utility player Ricardo Gardner is now back in full training while Joey O’Brien played 90 minutes for the reserves on Monday.

Bolton have lost four of their opening five Barclays Premier League matches and currently sit second from bottom of the table on three points.

source:premierleague

Bruce delight at Oubina capture

Birmingham City manager Steve Bruce believes Borja Oubina is a “quality” signing.

 The Blues moved to sign the player on loan from Spanish side Celta Vigo with minutes to spare before the transfer deadline after it had looked as though he would join Portuguese giants Benfica. The deal may be made permanent at the end of the season.

“Very early in the week, it looked odds-on as if he was going to Benfica,” said Bruce. “That didn’t happen, and we jumped on the back of it.”

The Blues moved for Oubina after a deal to sign French midfielder Peter Luccin from Atletico Madrid fell through.

Hull to make shock Okocha signing

Hull City are set to unveil former Nigeria international Jay-Jay Okocha as their new signing on Tuesday, according to BBC Radio Humberside. The 34-year-old, who spent four years at Bolton Wanderers, was in the directors’ box watching the Championship side’s game at Blackpool.

The midfielder has been playing for Qatar SC since his release by Bolton last summer.

Okocha, who appeared in three World Cups, won over 70 caps with Nigeria.

Hull boss Phil Brown revealed he had been in contact with the veteran last month.

“Jay-Jay’s obviously in the transfer market at the moment - I’ve had a couple of conversations with him,” he said.

source:bbcsports

Yakubu out to form best partnership in league

Everton’s record signing Ayegbeni Yakubu believes his partnership with Andrew Johnson can become the best in the Premier League.

The £11.25million striker netted after just 11 minutes of his debut in Saturday’s win at Bolton, and Johnson was the creator.

Yakubu had not scored in 16 previous games for his former club Middlesbrough, but his impact had a crucial part to play in a 2-1 victory at the Reebok Stadium that sees Everton now holding down third place in the top flight.

Yakubu said: ‘I really think that my partnership with AJ will become one of the best in the division. We have only played one match and had a couple of training sessions together, but we have hit it off straight away.’

Bolton 1-2 Everton

Joleon Lescott’s last-gasp header gave Everton victory after record buy Yakubu marked his debut with a goal. The £11.25m striker rounded off a brilliant counter-attack by turning in Andrew Johnson’s pass after 11 minutes.

Mikel Alonso hit the bar with a rising drive before Nicolas Anelka deservedly drew Bolton level with a powerful volley after 55 minutes.

Everton, inspired by substitute Thomas Gravesen, snatched the points when Lescott headed home the Dane’s corner.

Boss David Moyes gave first Premier League starts to Everton’s summer signings Phil Jagielka and Steven Pienaar, with Gravesen on the bench.

And the tiny South African was involved in the sweeping move that saw Everton go ahead after 11 minutes.

Anelka signs new deal with Bolton

Bolton striker Nicolas Anelka has ended speculation over his future by signing a new contract that will keep him at the club until 2011. Anelka, 28, has been linked with a move away from the Reebok, with several Premier League clubs interested.

But he said: “I seem to have been linked with every club in the country of late, but my heart is with Bolton.

“I am very happy with my form, the club and the manager so signing a new contract was not a difficult decision.”

French international Anelka joined the Trotters from Fenerbahce last summer for £8m, signing an initial four-year deal.

Lee fears Diouf and Anelka exit

Bolton manager Sammy Lee admits he could be powerless to stop El Hadji Diouf and Nicolas Anelka leaving. Diouf, 26, has said he wants to quit the club to play in the Champions League and fellow striker Anelka, 29, has been linked with Arsenal and Lyon.

“It’s a concern and it might be out of my hands but at the moment it is only speculation,” said Lee.

“We want to keep our better players but - as I’ve said before - if people want to go sometimes you can’t stop them.”

Bolton are bottom of the Premier League after losing all three games so far this season and that dismal start has led to increased speculation that both Diouf and Anelka could leave before the transfer window closes on 31 August.