NICOLAS Anelka has revealed he is a big fan of the striker who replaced him at the Reebok Stadium.

The Frenchman prepares to face Wanderers this afternoon for the first time since quitting the club.

But the Premier League’s top scorer has made known his admiration for Johan Elmander, who stepped into his considerable goalscoring boots after arriving from Toulouse in the summer.

“Elmander replaced me at Bolton and I like this player a lot,” the Chelsea star told French sports magazine Les Dessous du Sport. “I thought he was great when he used to play for Toulouse.”

Elmander enjoyed a successful spell in French football before moving to the Premier League and Anelka regrets that his own beloved Paris St Germain did not try and convince him to stay in La Ligue.

“He is starting to score regularly,” the 30-year-old said of Wanderers new record signing.

“That is a shame he is at Bolton. I would have loved to see him strengthen PSG.

“For sure he would have played well at Parc des Princes.”

Chelsea have not won in their last three games and were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in their last outing.

And Anelka knows that puts added pressure on the Londoners to beat his old club – creating a new Premier League record for consecutive away wins in the process.

“The clash with Arsenal ended up with a defeat and it was a quite frustrating match,” said the in-form hitman, who has struck 14 times this season already. “Losing points at home is a shame, especially when you were on top.

“We scored first but conceded two goals with their two only chances of the game.

“I predicted a tough one, but we should definitely have done better.

“As a consequence we are going to have to bounce back against Bolton, one of my former clubs.

“I experienced super moments there but we need to win.

“For sure this game will have a special taste.”