Juventus close in on loan deal for Drogba

Shanghai Shenhua striker Didier Drogba is closing on a loan move to Juventus in January, according to ESPN sources.

Drogba, 34, who has been keeping fit by training with his old Chelsea team-mates, is unable to move before January 1 after his request to be made exempt from international transfer rules was rejected by FIFA.

However, the Ivorian is keen to maintain to maintain his fitness after the end of the Chinese season and, with the African Cup of Nations kicking off on January 19, could make an initial loan move to Serie A.

The Italian champions are believed to want him for longer and have offered Drogba a one-and-a-half-year contract until the end of the 2013-14 season, but the striker wants a deal until June 2015 if he is to leave China for good.

Juve are known to be on the lookout for a new striker and have been linked with moves for Luis Suarez and Edin Dzeko of late. However, they turned their attention to Drogba when they were alerted to problems resulting in Chairman Zhu Jun, a billionaire who owns 28.5% of the Shanghai club, threatening to stop paying the wages of Drogba and Nicolas Anelka unless he increased his stake to 70%.

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Source: ESPN