Striker Didier Drogba to be offered a new contract at Chelsea
Sources reveal that Chelsea have decided to offer http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Didier-Drogba-c11044, the 33-year-old Ivory Coast striker, a new deal in the summer.
There had been rumours suggesting that the Blues hit-man would be facing a Stamford Bridge exit, with his apparent replacement http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fernando-Torres-c13707 already in place.
The Spaniard arrived at the London club from Premier League rivals http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 in the January transfer window for a record breaking fee of £50 million.
However, he failed to establish himself at the London club and the Blues had to ultimately rely on Drogba to help them through the season.
This is why the management at Chelsea has decided to retain the services of the Ivorian forward, most likely for the remainder of his career.
Even though there hasn’t been an official statement by the club or the player, a source close to the club confirmed that Drogba would be staying at Chelsea.
A source close to the club revealed:
“As soon as the new coach has been appointed one of the first things that will happen is that Didier signs a new extended deal.
There's no way the club want him to leave - he's one of the best strikers in the world.
Can you imagine the outcry if Didier was sold and Torres continues to struggle? The decision's been made - it's better to keep both.”
Drogba signed for Chelsea in the summer of 2004 for a fee of £24 million from Ligue 1 side http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Olympique-de-Marseille-c40127.
Having finished his seventh season at the club, Drogba has made more than 300 appearances in all competitions for the Blues and has gone on to score 144 goals.
Last season Drogba made 32 appearances in the Premier League and scored 29 goals, making him the top goal scorer and Golden boot winner for that season.
This season he was unable to maintain his goal scoring form, going on to make 31 appearances and scoring just 11 goals.
The reason for his poor form was the fact that he had been playing suffering from Malaria, which was diagnosed almost a month later.
Even though he made a full recovery after the diagnosis, he never quite regained his previous form.
Apart from that, Drogba had to compete with Torres in the latter half of the season for a place in the starting XI.
Despite the 27-year-old Spaniard failing to deliver, former http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786 manager Carlo Ancelotti preferred him over Drogba.
Drogba was mostly reduced to the role of a substitute, being brought on towards the final 30 minutes of the game.
It was unfair to the Ivorian, to lose out his spot to Torres and then be expected to make an impact on the game after being brought on in the final stages of the game.
However, it seems the management at Chelsea have recognized the error in their ways and have decided to keep Drogba for the unforeseeable future.
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