By Alan Duffy

"You see this smile on my face? It's only for the cameras, ok? I genuinely despise you"

Currently doing a spot of pre-season training in Spain with new club Shanghai Shenhua, Le Sulk, Nicolas Anelka, has described the hell he had to endure during his final days at Chelsea.

Former Liverpool striker Nicolas Anelka left Chelsea for Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua in January, and for a brief period prior to signing, the Frenchman was dubiously linked with an improbable return to Anfield. Anelka could've also joined Carlo Ancelotti at Paris St Germain, but as he now reveals, the move held no interest for him.

By Alan Duffy

In the past 12 months or so, the global nature of football has become all the more apparent, as the UAE, India and China have suddenly become legitimate destinations for some of the game's bigger (and mostly older) stars.

All January 2012 English Premier League Transfers - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

You'll find the latest Premier League Transfers (January 2012) listed here. Archives for older transfer seasons are at the end of this page. For the latest transfer rumours and confirmed transfers for other leagues, see our football transfer lists page.

Lets start off Monday's edition of Major Link Soccer with a local flavor.

The North Sound SeaWolves FC have moved from their Everett home to new digs in Edmonds. The club plans to make it official this week. As you may know, the SeaWolves play in the PDL North Division. This is the same division that is home to PDL champs Kitsap Pumas and formerly the Tacoma Tide -- now Seattle Sounders FC U23 -- just to name a few.

They say that the Premier League is no country for old men, that its dash and intensity are too much for the over-30s.

The year is still in its infancy, but already 2012 has proved the nay-sayers wrong. With the broad shouldered Phil Jones losing impulsive cult followers with every passing game, English football is turning to tried and tested players.

They say that the Premier League is no country for old men, that its dash and intensity are too much for the over-30s.

The year is still in its infancy, but already 2012 has proved the nay-sayers wrong. With the broad shouldered Phil Jones losing impulsive cult followers with every passing game, English football is turning to tried and tested players.

by Andrew Crawford

Having even the remotest interest in Shanghai Shenhua should probably come with a health warning. When I die a decade prematurely, blame it on the side from the Hongkou stadium for weakening my heart and badly damaging my sanity. Shenhua is a dangerous interest to have. Believe me, its lots of fun but if you can, enjoy it in moderation.

Nicolas Anelka is swimming in dough on the shores of Shanghai. Will Didier Drogba be joining him before the end of the January transfer window?

Quite possibly, if you ask the Shenhua PR department.

Chinese connection?

As you know, Drogba has rejected a one-year contract extension from Chelsea in search of at least a two-year deal.

Nicolas Anelka is swimming in dough on the shores of Shanghai. Will Didier Drogba be joining him before the end of the January transfer window?

Quite possibly, if you ask the Shenhua PR department.

Chinese connection?

As you know, Drogba has rejected a one-year contract extension from Chelsea in search of at least a two-year deal.

By Andrew Crawford, writing from Shanghai

Despite the city starting to slow down for the Chinese New Year, Shanghai Shenhua's PR machine remains as busy as ever. The club's website is more brightly coloured than usual and images of the new manager, Jean Tigana, and his star player, Nicolas Anelka, flicker across the screen whilst behind them, four silhouetted figures stand in the background.

A Chinese Internet company has said it is paying French football player Nicolas Anelka 2.7 million euros ($3.4 million) to endorse a new online game, as the striker gears up for his first season in China.

Nico Anelka, speaking ahead of his "new adventure" in China has taken the time out to release a statement thanking the Chelsea fans for their support in "four wonderful years" at the club. The statement in full says:

"I want to thank you all for the support you have always provided.

It's safe to say Alex has not enjoyed the new year thus far. After Andre Villas-Boas kicked the bold, bald Brazilian to the Cobham curb earlier in the winter, he was left to fend for himself on just £50k per week. Just really, really terrible.

Thankfully for Alex, the nightmare looks to be coming to an end.

By Chris Wright

In no particular order, Pies' ten-strong run down of the rumoured January deals we'd absolutely love to see come to fruition for one reason or another...

1. Didier Drogba (Chelsea) to Shanghai Shenhua...

Word is that there are several Chinese clubs queuing up to throw upwards of £400,000-a-week at The Drog in order to coerce him into semi-retirement.

Didier Drogba, Gary Cahill, Andrei Arshavin and Andy Johnson headline the list of Premier League stars who are out of contract at the end of the season according to Goal.com, and could be available on a free transfer this summer.

You could put together a pretty competitive side from this list.

The winter of discontent continues at Chelsea as players openly defied coach Andre Villas-Boas' decision to bar Nicolas Anelka from the club's Christmas dinner. The growing unrest and souring relations at Chelsea sunk to new depths over the New Years weekend when under-fire coach Andre Villas-Boas barred departing striker Nicolas Anelka from the club's Christmas [.

The winter of discontent continues at Chelsea as players openly defied coach Andre Villas-Boas' decision to bar Nicolas Anelka from the club's Christmas dinner. The growing unrest and souring relations at Chelsea sunk to new depths over the New Years weekend when under-fire coach Andre Villas-Boas barred departing striker Nicolas Anelka from the club's Christmas [.

2012: Rise of the Chinese Football Empire? is a post from: Just Football

Following the arrival of Nicolas Anelka and Jean Tigana at Shanghai Shenhua, the Chinese Super League (CSL) has received more attention in a month than it has previously done in almost a decade.

The CSL itself is coming up to its ninth year as China's top league since it superseded the Jia-A League in 2003.

2012: Rise of the Chinese Football Empire? is a post from: Just Football

Following the arrival of Nicolas Anelka and Jean Tigana at Shanghai Shenhua, the Chinese Super League (CSL) has received more attention in a month than it has previously done in almost a decade.

The CSL itself is coming up to its ninth year as China's top league since it superseded the Jia-A League in 2003.

The January 2011 transfer window was a blockbuster one as Premier League teams spent over £210 MILLION on transfers. Amongst the big spenders were Chelsea (David Luiz £21.4m, Fernando Torres £50m), Liverpool (Andy Carroll £35m, Luis Suarez £22.8m) and Aston Villa (Darren Bent £18m, Jean Makoun £6m).

It's common knowledge that firstly, Alex handed in a transfer request that has been accepted by Chelsea and he is expected to leave next month. Secondly, Florent Malouda has spoken out about leaving the club if he doesn't play more football and finally, Carlo Ancelotti will be named the new PSG manager this afternoon.

Chelsea close on Milos Krasic and Gary Cahill, What the back pages say

Chelsea are attempting to sign Juventus's Milos Krasic in the January transfer window as a replacement for Nicolas Anelka. Gary Cahill is on the brink of completing his £7m move to Chelsea, according to Bolton boss Owen Coyle.

NICOLAS Anelka's departure from Chelsea to Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua got me thinking: how far the game has evolved in the world's most populous Country?

Ever since the formation of China's top flight division in 1994 and its subsequent re-branding 10 years later (From the Jia-A League to the Chinese Super League), the far-east nation has pumped vast sums of money into its Football Association and the results of this are now beginning to show.

Nicolas Anelka will soon be playing professional soccer in China. This is surprising because Nicolas Anelka is still a talented, effective soccer player who would help all but about 10 teams in the world. This is not surprising because Nicolas Anelka is going to a place where they'll pay him an exponent of a number it'd take me years to count to.

Nicolas Anelka will soon be playing professional soccer in China. This is surprising because Nicolas Anelka is still a talented, effective soccer player who would help all but about 10 teams in the world. This is not surprising because Nicolas Anelka is going to a place where they'll pay him an exponent of a number it'd take me years to count to.

Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou's imminent January departure for the African Cup of Nations, along with the sale of Nicolas Anelka to Chinese Super League Club Shanghai Shenhua has left manager André Villas-Boas facing a possibly head-scratching dilemma.

The loss of these three household names could force goal-shy Fernando Torres back in to the equation at Stamford Bridge, a move which some would consider a risk.

Nicolas Anelka

The former French international signed with Shanghai Shenhua, of the Chinese Super League, this week. Anelka's two year contract with Shenua will pay the 32-year-old 175,000-euros-a-week, which is nearly $12 million-a-year. The Montreal Impact attempted to negotiate a contact with Anelka to bring the striker to MLS, but the two sides could not reach an agreement on a salary that made the offer competitive with Shenhua's deal.

Omar Bravo is gone. David Beckham could be gone. Nicolas Anelka isn't coming.

The Designated Player landscape in MLS is changing and evolving, and even with teams having the flexibility to go after younger DP options or giving players like league veteran Shalrie Joseph a DP deal, the lure of landing a big-name, marketable superstar is still prevalent.

Chelsea have finally confirmed the status of their veteran French bomber, Nicolas Anelka, after revealing at the club's official site that they have agreed in selling the striker to Chinese outfit, Shanghai Shenhua.

Despite confirming Anelka's departure in the upcoming January transfer window, the Blues apparently didn't revealed any more financial details which both clubs being agreed upon, although rumors claimed that Shanghai is offering wages around 175,000 a week for Anelka.

There have been some utterly absurd contracts handed out recently, the guilty party typically residing on the blue side of Manchester with Dagestan looking a formidable foe in the near future (obviously). However, that just handed to a 32 year old Nicolas Anelka might just quash all others combined:

Chinese media quoted a report by sports network ESPN saying Anelka had agreed a two-year deal with Shenhua for a weekly salary of £200,000, reportedly a marked rise from his £90,000 per week at Chelsea.

Story featured today in The Sun
It's been confirmed that Nicolas Anelka has signed for Shanghei Shenhua on a reported £6m a year contract for two years. The club released an official statement on the Chelsea website here saying:

Chelsea Football Club and Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua have agreed terms for the permanent transfer of Nicolas Anelka in the January transfer window.

AVB craziness Last time Chelsea had a Portuguese manager there was usually a whirlwind of conspiracy theories and paranoia swirling around. But with Jose Mourinho at the helm it was usually created for the benefit of the club. Under Andre Villas Boas it seems the manager himself is the biggest victim.

When the rumour mills reporting that Liverpool FC are to enquired about the...

I'd say this makes Nicolas Anelka's move to the People's Republic pretty damn official, eh?

Sweet robot

Read more about the deal via the Shenhua official website.

The club says Anelka has agreed to a two-year deal with the Blue Devils. Rumor is he'll be on something like £200-plus thousand per week over there ridiculous, but an impressive pull.

I'd say this makes Nicolas Anelka's move to the People's Republic pretty damn official, eh?

Sweet robot

Read more about the deal via the Shenhua official website.

The club says Anelka has agreed to a two-year deal with the Blue Devils. Rumor is he'll be on something like £200-plus thousand per week over there ridiculous, but an impressive pull.

Liverpool are reportedly considering making a move to sign Chelsea attacker and...

Over the last week, (fabricated) rumours have surfaced regarding the possibility of Nicolas Anelka returning to Liverpool in the new year. On his website a few days ago, Anelka wrote: "I Know Where I'll Be on 2 January", and it now seems like the identity of his next club has been revealed.

It looks like our continued overhaul may get started a little early. A host of outlets, including BBC Sport, are reporting that Nicolas Anelka could agree a move to Shanghai Shenhua within the next week.

A sight not to be seen again

As you are well aware, Anelka will not be hanging around Cobham for much longer.

It looks like our continued overhaul may get started a little early. A host of outlets, including BBC Sport, are reporting that Nicolas Anelka could agree a move to Shanghai Shenhua within the next week.

A sight not to be seen again

As you are well aware, Anelka will not be hanging around Cobham for much longer.