Drogba pursuit gathers pace

Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua say there are confident of wrapping up a deal for Didier Drogba after further negotiations.

The Chelsea striker is on the look out for a new club after deciding to call it quits at Stamford Bridge, with a host of teams from around the world taking an interest in the Ivory Coast international. Shenhua have had a long-standing admiration of Drogba and are keen to partner him with former Blues forward Nicolas Anelka, who moved to China in January. Shenhua are thought to be making steady progress in their negotiations with Drogba and the club's newly appointed manager Sergio Batista is optimistic they will complete a deal for the striker soon. "The possibility of Drogba coming is still relatively large," Batista said. "I believe the club's management is still in contact with Drogba." Batista went on to say that he didn't expect a deal to be completed before the end of the month, with Shenhua's owner Zhu Jun still to hold talks with Drogba.