Didier Drogba Wants A Two-Year Contract Extension At Chelsea - Report

 The Blues' forward has 18 months left on his current deal at Stamford Bridge, and will be 34 by the time that contract expires.

The News of the World claims that the upper echelon at the club are reluctant to bow to the forward's desire to play for two more years, owing to his diminished form in recent weeks, though the effects of a bout of malaria may well have contributed to that.

There have been suggestions that the Ivory Coast international is past his prime, with some quarters citing the fact that the hitman was benched for last week's crucial encounter against Tottenham Hotspur.

To his credit, however, the former Olympique Marseille man came on to score the leveller. And he had the opportunity to grab the winner, too, with a spot-kick, though the 32-year-old was unable to convert the penalty and the game ended all square at one-apiece.

Drogba is currently 16th in the Castrol Rankings, down from ninth the previous month.

Meanwhile, there are also reports that the Chelsea squad may have lost some of its unity following the sacking of popular assistant manager Ray Wilkins. His dismissal has coincided with a slump in form that has seen the team slip from first to fourth and fail to win any of their last five Premier League fixtures.