English Premier league side Bolton confirmed Monday they have rejected a bid from Chelsea for their French striker Nicolas Anelka.

Chelsea are eager to bring in a top-level scorer to cover for Didier Drogba who will play for the Ivory Coast in the African Nations Cup later this month.

And Anelka, who moved to Bolton in 2006, seems to fit the bill for Avram Grant's side having scored 11 goals despite his side struggling in the first half of the new campaign.

The 28-year-old former Arsenal striker signed a new four-year contract earlier this season, but has made his interest in joining a bigger club known.

Chelsea's bid was not disclosed but according to sources close to Bolton the club have fixed a price tag on the mercurial Frenchman at 17 millions euros (25 million USD).

Manchester United have also been linked with Anelka, but manager Alex Ferguson is believed to be more interested in acquiring the services of Tottenham's free-scoring Bulgarian forward Dimitar Berbatov.