Anelka row with Santini won’t affect City career, says Keegan

KEVIN KEEGAN has hit back at suggestions that Nicolas Anelka’s row with France coach Jacques Santini could signal a downturn in his Manchester City career.

The FA confirmed yesterday that Anelka would be free to face Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday following French calls for the 23-year-old to be banned.

Anelka refused to link up with Santini’s squad for last night’s friendly with Yugoslavia after receiving a weekend call-up to the injury-hit party.

The decision could signal the end of Anelka’s international career, but City fans feared the controversy could spark another series of arguments of the kind that littered the striker’s early career. Those included well-publicised rows at Arsenal and Real Madrid and, more recently, an argument with Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier over a possible summer move to Anfield.

However, those concerns were not enough to dissuade Keegan from investing a club record £13 million in Anelka’s services once the Liverpool deal had fallen through and the former England boss’ confidence is not waning yet.

‘‘If someone paid me £1 million to say something bad about Nicolas, I couldn’t do it on how he has been here,’’ Keegan said.

“I can’t stop all the stuff which goes around Nicolas. I can only judge him on what I see. He has been a model professional and puts in a lot of extra training. He is the only player who has played every minute of every game this season. He is very settled here and his performances have been top class.’’

Anelka grabbed his seventh goal of the campaign in the stunning 3-1 triumph over Manchester United on November 9 and has looked City’s most potent attacking threat since their return to the Premiership.

There had been reports of a row between player and manager in the build-up to the derby when Anelka failed to turn up at a charity game in France on the eve of City’s surprise Worthington Cup defeat at Wigan.

Those claims were subsequently rejected by Keegan, who insisted the latest dispute was a personal issue and did not involve the Maine Road outfit.

‘‘We have never refused anyone permission to go on international duty,’’ he said.

‘‘In fact Shaun Wright-Phillips has joined up with the England Under-21 squad and he is carrying a slight injury.

‘‘I have not spoken to Nicolas about this issue and I don’t see why I should. I allowed Mr Santini to come into the dressing room and talk to Nicolas but the conversation had nothing to do with me.

“It would only effect me if I had asked him not to go or to pull out. I didn’t.

‘‘It will not effect him in any way shape or form. It is a decision he made a while ago and it hasn’t affected him so far and I don’t think it will in the future. He is a very strong-willed lad and he has his own views on the situation.’’

The only way Anelka will now be forced to miss the trip to Teesside would be if FIFA intervened, a situation the FA believe is unlikely to occur given the clarity of the information they have received.