Drogba to stay, Man City want Alonso

Didier Drogba, the subject of much transfer speculation earlier in the close season after his punishment by Uefa for his conduct after Chelsea's home defeat by Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final, is likely to remain at Stamford Bridge, according to the Times. The Ivory Coast international is finalising a £120,000 a week deal which should the 31-year-old end his career with the Blues. Drogba was on the score sheet yesterday as Chelsea defeated Serie A champions Inter Milan 2-0, led by former Blues boss Jose Mourinho, in a pre-season friendly in America yesterday...

Just when Rafa Benitez thought he had managed to stave off Real Madrid's interest in Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso with a £35m valuation of the Spaniard, Manchester City and Chelsea have come back in the hunt for the 27-year-old, the Daily Mail reveals. The two clubs have been monitoring the situation with Alonso, who wants to move back to Spain to join Florentino Perez's newly assembled Galacticos, and now that real look like withdrawing from the race Benitez's worst nightmare would be to see the versatile midfielder go to a Premier League rival...

Two further headaches in midfield for Benitez are the prospect of losing captain Steven Gerrard to a custodial jail sentence and the continued agitation for a departure from Javier Mascherano. The Argentinean's agent Walter Tamer is pushing for his client to be allowed to leave for European champions Barcelona, telling the Sun: "Barcelona is the easiest deal to set up as Javier wants to go to Spain. He is tired of life in England. His wife has not been given a permanent visa. She has to go through an odyssey each time she wants to go. Liverpool refuses to sell, this can be overcome with an extraordinary offer"...

Sunderland have bowed to the inevitable and accepted that they will not be able to persuade Peter Crouch to leave the south of the country and come and join Steve Bruce's revolution at the Stadium of Light, leaving the way clear for London sides Spurs and Fulham to fight for the £12m-rated striker, reports the Guardian. Bruce had offered the 28-year-old England international a lucrative contract believed to be worth up to £90,000 a week, but Crouch couldn’t be persuaded that a move north to a club that narrowly avoided relegation last season was the right one for him. If Fulham's sale of Bobby Zamora to Hull for £5m goes through, the Cottagers are expected to be in prime position to seal the deal... ·