Chelsea striker could follow Nicolas Anelka to Chinese Super League
Published:Chelsea hero Didier Drogba remains one of the Premier League’s most highly rated strikers, even at 33 years old.
Having enjoyed the best years of his career at Stamford Bridge, in which he has collected two Premier League Golden Boot awards, the powerful Ivorian could now be set for one final payday as he sees out his glittering playing career.
The three-time Premier League winner is free to negotiate with other clubs, having rejected the offer of a one-year deal from Chelsea in the hope he would be offered a two year contract.
Whilst a host of top European clubs would jump at the chance of securing his services, Drogba could follow his former Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka to mega-rich Shanghai Shenhua of China, who claim to be in talks with the striker.
Anelka managed to seal a £200,000 per week salary in the Far East last month, and a player of Drogba’s stature would attract wages that would at the very least equal that astonishing weekly packet.
However, with the player currently away on international duty at the African Cup of Nations, he is expected to partake in dialogue with his current club before anything is agreed.
As Drogba would be allowed to leave for free in the summer, it may be the case that Chelsea would have to seriously consider any bid they may receive for him during this transfer window, though it is thought that Andre Villas-Boas would prefer him to see out the remainder of his contract.
That said, the exit of Drogba would allow Villas-Boas the chance to utilise Daniel Sturridge as a central striker more often.
Sturridge has recently made known his disillusions with being consistently selected as a wide player, and with his boss keen to build towards the future, his complaints could lend weight to the suggestions that Drogba’s Stamford Bridge tenure could be drawing to a close.
