Didier Drogba, whose goal at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday gave Chelsea the slenderest of leads ahead of the Champion League semi-final second leg in Barcelona next week, is nearing a lucrative move to China according to reports this morning.

It has been an open secret that Shanghai Shenhua, who have just appointed former Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka as player-coach, have been tracking the player since January. And it seems their offer of a two-year, £130,000 a week – after tax – deal will convince Drogba to wind down his career in China.

According to the Daily Mail,Chelsea were only prepared to extend his contract by 12 months, despite his contributions to Chelsea’s progress in both the FA Cup and the Champions League. Anelka certainly wants the player.

As we reported at the beginning of March, Anelka said that he talks to Drogba regularlay about the switch. “If I could choose any of my former teammates to join me at Shenhua, it would be Didier,” he said.

“I speak with him on a regular basis and I expect him to come to Shanghai. When I left Chelsea, I told him we’d play together again soon.”

Shanghai Shenhua are also confident that a deal will be done soon. “During negotiations, Drogba said that he liked the No. 11 shirt,” said owner and chairman Zhu Jun. “So to show the club’s sincerity, we reserved it for him.”

 

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