So, in a somewhat surprising turn of events, Didier Drogba is being linked with a move to Man City.
Indeed, Drogba’s agent, Thierno Seydi, has been yapping and suggested a move could be on the agenda, with financial aspects highlighted as the crux:
“Today, he is at Chelsea but there might be some surprises before August 31,” Seydi told Radio Monte Carlo.
“The only direct contact I had was with Manchester City. But for now we stick with the status quo.
“We listen to everyone but Didier leaving Chelsea is not an easy task because all the conditions are met for him to flourish there.
“At his age, I cannot ignore the financial aspect. The club which wants Didier will have to put up the money.”
Certainly, it has come out of the blue and would be one of the more startling transfers of the summer, but would it be worthwhile? It seems a peculiar one for all parties. Firstly, Drogba, now 32-years-old, has a limited amount of time at the top of the game. Surely he will not want to sacrifice a season of Champions League football with the career-clock ticking.
Moreover, as the above quote conveniently states ‘leaving Chelsea is not an easy task because all the conditions are met for him to flourish there’; well, quite (no need for elaboration there then).
As for City, you obviously see the Drogba appeal; a proven Premier League star, last seasons top goal scorer, and clearly capable of producing his best for a couple more years. However, whilst already boasting the likes of Tevez, Adebayor et al, they look likely to give a nod towards youth in regards to Mario Balotelli. Do they need to throw more money at the strike force? How would they accommodate all these egos and attacking forces?
Chelsea could of course cash in on the Ivorian while he still holds financial clout, but they will be well aware that finding an adequate short-term replacement to effectively emulate his role will be very, very difficult. Drogba is the leading light; take him out and the Stamford Bridge front-line looks slender. Money in the piggybank is one thing, but on the back of a double winning season, why sacrifice the opportunity to further cement your dominance?
Thus, it probably shouldn’t materialise, but will it?
No, most likely not.
As is apparent from the above, it is Drogba’s agent making all these noises.
A summer barely goes by without speculation surrounding Drogba and the cynical soul within me thinks the agent is hampering for a nice slice of any wage increase or improved deal for his ‘coveted’ star. It’s difficult to know how much truth is contained, but that cynical feeling undoubtedly mushrooms when, according to The Telegraph, Manchester City’s spokesperson explicitly states “There has been absolutely no contact. We have not spoken to him and there is no foundation to this.”
Fabrication or not, would you like to see Drogba at Chelsea or City?
Follow me on twitter: http://twitter.com/jonathanellisTT
About the Author
Absolutely – when I first read this rumour, I was sure there was never any truth in it – Chelsea don’t want to sell & City don’t want to buy – it is so obvious the agent is trying to make an extra buck or two. What a fool.
There was a syory doing the rounds last season that Drogba was angry with John Terry’s actions over the affair with Wayne Bridge. Could you blame him for maybe being sick to death of all the crap that has surrounded Chelsea players over the last couple of yrs. I Still think it’s his agent who is spreading the stories about but who’s to know whether or not Drogba asked him to test the waters????
Or, alternatively, the agent is actually telling the truth and has spoken to somebody who claims to represent Manchester City, but who in fact does not and is just another go-between touting for business for himself. He will simply phone Drogba’s agent and ask him if Didier would be interested in earning £200+k a week, and then when the agent says maybe, then he’ll approach City & say that he can line up a deal to sign Didier Drogba for Man City. In reality, he’s just a nobody making a couple of phone calls, but he could end up being somebody making wads of money out of the deal. Lots of deals are done this way nowadays. The days of only one agent being involved in a transfer deal are long gone!
Best for all parties for him to stay put. As the article says, City have endless list of players who can do the job upfront, and it just means benching one of these ego’s if Drog comes.
Drogba surely would love to add a champs league medal to his collection just as much as Chelsea would like to add the trophy to their cabinet.
And lets be honest, its not like Chelsea NEED this money, he’ll definatly be staying imo.!
Still, if it was true, I’d bite Chelsea’s arm off to get Drogba.
He’s the premiership top goalscorer again. With Tevez doing all the running, and Drogba hanging around near the goal, all the other strikers at City can do one as far as I’m concerned.