Football news

Nicolas Anelka, the most high-profile foreign player ever to sign for the Chinese league, arrived to join up with his new side Shanghai Shenhua yesterday.

The 32-year-old former Chelsea striker posed for a photo with an immigration official at the city’s airport before being whisked through security to a special VIP exit, the state-backed media website Eastday said.

China’s legion of fans are hoping the French international will not only boost Shenhua, who finished in the bottom half of the table last season, but also raise the standard of play in the country’s scandal-hit Super League.

Ljungberg quits J-League club

Former Arsenal and Sweden midfielder Freddie Ljungberg has left J-League Shimizu S-Pulse after less than six months in Japan.

The 34-year-old, who played for the Gunners from 1998 to 2007, joined Shimizu from Celtic last September on an 18-month deal with his annual salary estimated at 60m yen ($769,000).

The Swede said that “after a long thought-out process and discussions with my family and representative... I felt despite my feelings for Japan and utmost respect for my team-mates and the coaching staff at S-Pulse, this was not the right project for me.”

Morrison hit with FA charge

West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison faces disciplinary action by the Football Association after being charged with an alleged homophobic comment posted on Twitter.

Morrison, who joined West Ham from Manchester United in the January transfer window, is alleged to have made the remark during an exchange with another user on the micro-blogging site.

The FA had initially contacted the 19-year-old last week for his comments on the allegation before deciding to formally charge him.

Morrison was regarded as one of the most talented youngsters ever to be unearthed by United, but was sold by the English champions amid ongoing off-field problems.

Huddlestone to have surgery

Tottenham midfielder Tom Huddlestone is set to go under the knife again as he battles back to fitness following an ankle injury, the Premier League club confirmed yesterday.

The 25-year-old England international has not played for Spurs since August and now faces a second round of surgery, despite assurances from Tottenham that his recovery is going as planned.

“Tom will undergo a second stage of surgery on Friday (tomorrow) to further his recovery following ankle surgery at the end of last year,” Tottenham said.

Tottenham have declined to put a date on Huddlestone’s likely comeback.

Lavezzi calm over Napoli future

Ezequiel Lavezzi has indicated that he has no plans to leave Napoli at the end of the season as speculation of a possible departure from the Serie A club continues.

The Argentine forward, 26, has been linked with Inter but told Sky Sport Italia yesterday that he expects to stay at the Stadio San Paolo beyond the end of the current campaign.

“I believe that I will still be here next season,” he said. “I’m happy in Naples, I have a long contract and I’m calm.”

Lavezzi is tied to the Azzurri until the summer of 2015 but reports suggest that his contract contains a buy-out clause of €31 million.

Maldini linked with PSG role

Former Milan defender Paolo Maldini is considering an offer to join the coaching staff at French club Paris St Germain.

According to a report in Le Parisien, the 43-year-old could take up the role of defensive coach to work under coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Ancelotti and Maldini were former team-mates for Milan and Italy while ex-Rossoneri midfielder and coach Leonardo is PSG’s sporting director.

Maldini recently hit out at Milan for not offering him a role after serving the club as a player for almost 25 years.

Hughton dismisses Wolves talk

Birmingham manager Chris Hughton said yesterday he has no plans to pursue the mana­gerial vacancy at Wolves, insis­ting he remains fully focused on overseeing the City’s promotion push.

Hughton has been linked with the Molineux job following the dismissal of Mick McCarthy on Monday after five-and-a-half years.

However Hughton, whose side are unbeaten at home this year, said he is determined to stay the course with Birmingham as they attempt to regain immediate promotion to the top-flight.

“I have a very challenging job to do here and I’ve got a group of lads who are desperate to do well this season and I’m desperate to guide them through,” Hughton told the Birmingham Mail.