Chelsea star forward Didier Drogba has been named the next transfer goal of the big-spending Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala.
The English paper Daily Mail claims Anzhi owner Suleiman Kerimov is ready to offer the 33-year-old Ivorian as much as 16 million euro per year. The talks are expected to resume in January 2012, when the winter transfer window opens.
Drogba’s contract with the Blues expires next summer. The Ivorian is willing to prolong the agreement for two more years, while the club plans to keep the player for only one more year.
According to the Russian Itar-Tass news agency, the striker himself has expressed a desire to stay in London, adding that he is ready to fight for a place in the starting line-up. But given Anzhi’s ambitions nothing can be ruled out completely.
In order to hook the African star, though, Anzhi will have to face competition from AC Milan.
Anzhi, who currently sit eighth in the Russian Premier League, are expected to make a stir on the transfer market this winter.
Apart from a number of stars on the pitch, the club has reportedly been linked with two big coaching names – Marcelo Lippi and, most recently, with Guus Hiddink.