London: Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has confirmed that the club has accepted transfer requests from Alex and Nicolas Anelka.
Villas-Boas has not handed the pair many first-team opportunities this season.
“The conversation was fair and very, very frontal and direct with the players. The players have shown their interest in leaving the club, they have put in transfer requests for quite some time,” a leading daily quoted Villas-Boas, as saying.
“They are top, top professionals - their professionalism and integrity is never in question, but at this moment and with the recent from and results, we have decided just to try to get the group together, and we have decided to assign different training times for Anelka and Alex.”
“Again, it was a frontal and direct conversation, the players were fantastic in assuming it. The group was informed and they took on board the decision. The transfer request was accepted — it doesn’t mean that it will happen, and if it doesn’t happen, the players will return to full training,” he added.
Villas-Boas confirmed the news after the club’s Premier League win against Newcastle United on Sunday, which Alex and Nicolas both missed.
ANI
First Published: Sunday, December 04, 2011, 15:12