West Brom close in on Nicolas Anelka as striker reportedly meets club officials ahead of medical

Former Chelsea striker is seeking a return to the Premier League after contract with Juventus expires

27. Nicolas Anelka - £21.5m (GETTY IMAGES)

Nicolas Anelka looks set to have a medical at West Bromwich Albion ahead of a free transfer to the Hawthorns.

Anelka is currently a free agent having finishes last season with Juventus. He left Chelsea after his contract expired this time last year, and chose to move to Shanghai Shenhua, but he failed to settle in China and quickly seeked a move away from the country.

The ex-Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers striker has had his fair share of Premier League moves, with West Brom looking to become the sixth English club to sign the Frenchman.

He has also turned out for Real Madrid, Fenerbahce and Paris Saint-Germain, where he started his career in 1996 and later returned for a second spell between 2000-2002, playing alongside current West Brom midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu.

If the deal goes through, Anelka will join the 12th club of his journeyed career, and it is reported that he has met with club officials ahead of a medical today.

Anelka has 69 caps for France to his name, finding the net on 14 occasions on the international stage, and he retired from international duty when he was hit with an 18-game ban from the French Football Federation after he clashed with then-manager Raymond Domenech.

The number 12 also applies to his standing on the all-time Premier League goalscoring list, having netted 123 times in the English top flight, and he worked briefly with Baggies manager Steve Clarke during their spell his spell with Chelsea.