Steve Clarke grants Nicolas Anelka time ‘to clear his head’ following death of his agent

Nicolas Anelka: Striker is on compassionate leave following the death of his agent, Eric Manasse (AFP/Getty images)

Nicolas Anelka has been given time to “get his head clear” by West Bromwich Albion following the death of his agent.

Eric Manasse passed away in Switzerland last weekend and Anelka, who has considered retiring from football in the past, is currently on compassionate leave from the club with no firm decision having been made yet on his future.

“We’ve given him time to go away and think about it and I don’t think we could do any more in the circumstances,” the Albion manager, Steve Clarke, explained last night. “Once he gets his head clear and we can sit down and have a proper chat, yeah sure. But at the moment it is the best course of action for both Nicolas and the club.”

The decision was taken after talks between Anelka, Clarke and technical director Richard Garlick on Thursday. “I went in and had a very brief chat with him, and he wasn’t in a good place. So the club have decided just to give him a bit of time to go away and think about it and get himself in a better place for the future.

“It wasn’t dramatic, there was no big bust-up, he didn’t storm out of the training ground. It is just a boy who is really quite upset.”