Anelka was worth the wait, says Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti is not a man to bear a grudge. Ten years ago Ancelotti, then manager of Juventus, tried to sign the youthful if temperamental Nicolas Anelka from Arsenal, describing the 20-year-old striker as "the Van Basten of the new millennium".

High praise indeed, but not enough to win over Anelka who instead opted for a move to Real Madrid, where he won the Champions League in 2000 before falling out with the management and heading back to France with his tail between his legs.

When Ancelotti agreed to take the Chelsea job last summer, it gave him the chance finally to work with Anelka a decade after he had first made his admiration known. Now, having seen the 30-year-old Anelka work at close quarters, Ancelotti is convinced he has become a far better player than the one who caught his eye in 1999.

"I wanted to buy Anelka when I managed Juventus. I spoke with his brother, but we could not agree," Ancelotti said. "Has he improved? Yes, I think so. He's playing now with more personality, with more intensity, with more continuity on the pitch.''

"I don't think he gets the credit he deserves. He's a fantastic striker and has great qualities. He has it all – he's a good jumper, he has technical quality, he shoots fantastically, he moves very well on the pitch.."

One of Ancelotti's first moves as Chelsea manager was to return Anelka back to his favoured role as a central striker, in partnership with the physically imposing Didier Drogba. Last season Anelka had featured mostly on the right flank, or played as a lone striker, but did well enough to finish as the Premier League's top scorer.

However Ancelotti wanted to see if he could form an understanding playing in a traditional striking pair with Drogba. It seems a common sense move, given that both men are among the best forwards in the world, but it had not been tried with any regularity or frequency by Guus Hiddink and his predecessors Luiz Felipe Scolari and Avram Grant.

"I don't know why other managers did not do this," Ancelotti said. "They have fantastic quality to play together. Didier is stronger, while Anelka is quicker. Sometimes I ask him to play a little bit behind Didier but, normally, he doesn't like to stay in front. He likes to move left or right, so I haven't had to change anything really."

Anelka returns to one of his many former clubs Bolton today with Chelsea enjoying a two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. Ancelotti admitted it is vital his side win today to ensure they have at least a two-point advantage over Manchester United when the champions visit Stamford Bridge in eight days' time.

Chelsea have lost their last two away games in the league, at Wigan and Aston Villa, but Ancelotti is confident those defeats will not be repeated at Bolton, who Chelsea defeated 4-0 in a Carling Cup tie at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.

The Chelsea manager maintained his side will be able to handle the physical approach of Bolton, who will be strengthened by the return of Kevin Davies, another striker Ancelotti admires greatly.

Ancelotti said: "Davies is a very good player. I like all kinds of strikers. It's important for a striker to work for the team. That's what I want all my strikers to do. It is not important that they always score.''