Redknapp wants Drogba on his side

Harry Redknapp has suggested that he would like to sign Didier Drogba should Chelsea sell the striker in the summer. The Tottenham Hotspur manager said Drogba was "still a superb player" and added of the Ivorian's future: "It's up to Chelsea what they do". Asked whether he would be interested if, as appears likely, Drogba was put up for sale, Redknapp added: "It's difficult to say, couldn't really say that, could I? He's a fantastic centre-forward — power, strength, he's got everything. He plays for Chelsea and until they decide otherwise, you can't speculate about his future. But he's a good player". Drogba's future is in severe doubt, however. He has one year left on his Chelsea contract and is unlikely, after the arrival of Fernando Torres, to receive the assurances he wants that he remains the club's first-choice striker. However Chelsea have not yet decided whether to sell and will certainly not let Drogba go without a substantial transfer fee being paid. They may also prefer him to move abroad, to Marseille, than go to Spurs. Options The Stamford Bridge club are considering their options for the next campaign with a variety of players, including Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian teenager, and Brazil international Neymar under discussion. Even if Redknapp wanted to bid for Drogba, he may have a big problem persuading Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to pay a substantial fee and take on a contract which yields the player more than £100,000 (Dh606,523) a week for a striker who is already 33. Levy has previously vetoed Redknapp's plans to sign players, such as Matthew Upson and David James, who are over 30 if it involved a fee although the manager is keen to overhaul his attacking options and wants to sign a striker with the power and presence of Drogba. Spurs are expected to be active this summer with Redknapp brushing aside concerns that failure to qualify for the Champions League may affect who will sign. "If you pay them wages they'll come," he said. "We kid ourselves ‘I've always wanted to play for Tottenham since I was two, had a picture of Jimmy Greaves on my wall'. It's a load of ----. Here's £80,000 a week, lovely jubbly. If you pay them the wages they'll come. If you don't they'll go somewhere else they can get it." Drogba's future may also be tied to what happens to manager Carlo Ancelotti. The player has been more settled under the Italian although his expected departure could lead to an overhaul of the squad with owner Roman Abramovich making it clear to the club that he wants Torres to lead the attack. Interestingly Ancelotti said Drogba's outstanding recent form has been the key factor in Chelsea's improved results — and there must also be regret from the manager that he did not follow his instinct and play the striker ahead of Torres from the start in the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester United. Chelsea, who face West Ham United at home, are now the Premier League's form team and Ancelotti said: "The team started to play well when we recovered our important players. When they came back to be fit like Didier — he is a player than can explain this moment. He is fit, he is in good condition, good spirit, and the team is playing well". Drogba does indeed seem finally free from the effects of malaria which hampered him earlier this season and Ancelotti said that he was pleased with the "character" his team had shown since the Champions League exit which has put such pressure on him. They have beaten West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City and reduced United's lead to six points. "I spoke [to the players] after Man United because it was a good opportunity to show our personality, our character," he said. "It would be easy to say our season is over but instead the players showed a good reaction. You have to stay in focus and show your professionalism." Ancelotti said his hope now was to keep the title race alive until the last weekend of the season. He added: "Everyone was looking to see what the reaction of the Chelsea players would be and it has been good."