Having secured a return to the Premier League, the East London club is hoping to add some offensive firepower through the much-travelled striker, according to the Mirror.
Anelka has only been with Shanghai since January, but the mercurial Frenchman is widely rumored to be unhappy with his current employers. After the club fired manager Jean Tigana mid-season, Anelka assumed the role of player-manager for the remainder of the campaign. However, the club's recent decision to hire manager Sergio Batista — without first consulting Anelka — has reportedly left the 33-year-old incensed.
Now it seems possible that the man dubbed "Le Sulk" by Arsenal supporters could return to English soccer in a reunion with current West Ham boss Sam Allardyce. While managing Bolton in 2006, Allardyce bought Anelka from Turkish club Fenerbahce for a then-club record transfer fee.
In his prime, Anelka possessed excellent speed and well-rounded technical ability. However his attitude and generally fragile mental state stopped the Frenchman from ever reaching his true potential, and he instead spent his career burning every bridge he crossed.
A Paris Saint-Germain trainee, Anelka made his breakthrough with Arsene Wenger and Arsenal before a big money move to Real Madrid in 1999. His stay in Madrid was marred by disputes with teammates and manager Vicente del Bosque that overshadowed on-field success, and he was sold back to former club PSG after just one season.
A lukewarm season and a half in the French capital was followed by a loan to Liverpool and an eventual full transfer to Manchester City. After two and half largely successful seasons at City, Anelka took a mid-season transfer to Fenerbache in 2005 only to return to England with his aforementioned move to Bolton and Allardyce in 2006.
Anelka's performances for Bolton earned him a move to Chelsea in January of 2008. In what can be considered Anelka's most stable period at club level, he became an important foil to Didier Drogba (himself a Shanghai target this summer) in the Blues' front line. The striker's eventual free transfer to Shanghai in January 2012 resulted after being frozen out of the first team by since-fired manager Andre Villas-Boas.
At the international level, Anelka is best remembered for his central role in France's humiliating performance at the 2010 World Cup. During half-time of France's group stage match against Mexico, Anelka directed an expletive-laden rant at Raymond Domenech (the currently unemployed manager not exactly a model of mental stability himself) resulting in an expulsion from the French camp.
Anelka's dismissal precipitated the well-publicized mutiny by the French players and all-around embarrassing showing in South Africa. While many players were reprimanded for their roles in the mutiny, Anelka was singled out for his poor influence on the team and hit with an 18-game international suspension.
In what is both a testament to his ability and indictment of his character, the perpetually brooding Frenchman would be joining the tenth club of his career should he sign with West Ham or any other interested parties this summer.
Photo via Flickr/jaymeydad
