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Shanghai Shenhua targeting Chelsea's Didier Drogba after sealing signature of team-mate Nicolas Anelka
The French striker's move to China was recently confirmed, and now the club set to be managed by Jean Tigana are hoping to make a deal with the Blues for the Ivorian
12 Dec 2011 14:00:00
By Joe Doyle
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is the subject of interest from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, who recently confirmed they will be signing his current team-mate Nicolas Anelka in January.
Anelka is rumoured to be receiving up to £8 million per year to play in China, and the club's director Zhou Jun has revealed that they have already spoken to Drogba and are ready to continue spending if the Ivorian striker is willing to swap west London for the Far East.
"Drogba is an excellent player," Zhou told Reuters. "We got in touch with him two weeks ago.
"From our club's perspective, we have this to say: If he is willing to come, we will definitely welcome him.
"It's like with the opening up of China. We needed to bring in the good stuff from foreign countries for us to learn from."
Zhou hopes that the high profile signing of Anelka will encourage other marquee signings in China to aid the growth of football in the country.
"People are aware of Anelka's Chelsea yearly salary which is around £5 million," he said. "So when he comes to China it definitely won't be below this figure."
Anelka is likely to be joined by Jean Tigana who is set to take over as manager of the club.
"Tigana, from the looks of it currently, is not a big problem," said Zhou. "When he was last in Shanghai he said the next time he is seen there it would be to coach Shenhua Football Club.
"So if you see Tigana at Shanghai International Airport you know he's our coach."
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Anelka is rumoured to be receiving up to £8 million per year to play in China, and the club's director Zhou Jun has revealed that they have already spoken to Drogba and are ready to continue spending if the Ivorian striker is willing to swap west London for the Far East.
"Drogba is an excellent player," Zhou told Reuters. "We got in touch with him two weeks ago.
"From our club's perspective, we have this to say: If he is willing to come, we will definitely welcome him.
"It's like with the opening up of China. We needed to bring in the good stuff from foreign countries for us to learn from."
Zhou hopes that the high profile signing of Anelka will encourage other marquee signings in China to aid the growth of football in the country.
"People are aware of Anelka's Chelsea yearly salary which is around £5 million," he said. "So when he comes to China it definitely won't be below this figure."
Anelka is likely to be joined by Jean Tigana who is set to take over as manager of the club.
"Tigana, from the looks of it currently, is not a big problem," said Zhou. "When he was last in Shanghai he said the next time he is seen there it would be to coach Shenhua Football Club.
"So if you see Tigana at Shanghai International Airport you know he's our coach."
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
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