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With Chelsea quibbling over the length of contract extension to offer Didier Drogba, wealthy Chinese clubs have entered the bidding, hoping to lure the powerful striker off to the Far East. And the Daily Mirror’s Martin Lipton believes that with contracts of up to £400,000 a week on the table, Drogba could even end up leaving Chelsea as soon as this month.

The 33-year-old is said to want to extend his contract at Chelsea by another two years, while the club are only willing to offer him one more year. And with Drogba’s contract due to end this summer, Martin understands that tensions are rising.

“Drogba doesn’t want to leave Chelsea, but he has become increasingly angered at their refusal to offer him a two-year deal,” Martin explains. “Their argument is: ‘Well, why haven’t you played [well] for the last nine months?’. I think that is coming to a critical point.”

Should Drogba decide to pack his bags, the Chinese trio of Shanghai Shenhua, Dalian Aerbin and Guangzhou Evergrande all apparently want to break the bank to secure his services. Guangzhou are reportedly offering a weekly salary of a staggering £400,000.

“The Chinese offer is so good, he may even go at the end of this month,” says Martin.

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