Chelsea ‘to sell Didier Drogba to AC Milan’

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is on the brink of leaving Stamford Bridge according to Corriere dello Sport. The Italian rag claims the 33-year-old Ivorian striker is the subject of a formal enquiry from AC Milan as the once great Serie A club look to restore their battered reputation. Apparently Milan will sell Antonio Cassano to Fiorentina this summer, and use the proceeds to procure Drogba's services. 

It's been widely speculated that Drogba, who joined Chelsea from Marseille in 2004, was seeking a fresh start after being relegated to the bench following the arrival of Fernando Torres from Liverpool last January. Drogba netted just four times in his last 20 appearances for the Blues and now Milan are offering him the chance of leading their strike force. 

Meanwhile Tottenham are reportedly prepared to tear up their wage structure in a bid to keep Luka Modric out of Chelsea's hands. According to reports at the end of last week the Blues had not only offered £25m for the Croatian midfielder, but Modric had stated publicly his desire to move across London. 

Now goal.com claims Spurs will offer the 25-year-old £75,000-a-week if he pledges his troth to Tottenham; but in return the Lilywhites allegedly want a statement from Modric declaring his loyalty and love for the club. 

Goal.com says Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has been discussing the matter with Modric's agent Mario Mamic and the pair have agreed that if the player's current weekly wage of £35,000-a-week is increased enough he'll happily kiss the crest of the Tottenham shirt.

Liverpool are still hopeful of landing Cristian Zapata but negotiations are being delayed by the Copa America tournament. The 24-year-old, currently on the books of Italian outfit Udinese, is playing for Colombia at the moment but said in an interview with broadcaster La FM that he hopes to sort out his future as soon the Copa America is done and dusted. 

"Bayern Munich and Liverpool are two real possibilities for me," he said recently. "[But] the Liverpool option is the more serious one." The defender's agent, Massimo Italiani, was giving little away when asked where the Colombian might be headed, saying simply: "In the next 10 days I think that I will be able to be more clear on Zapata's future."

In other news, Sky Sports claim that Monaco midfielder Mahamadou Diarra has his heart set on a move to the Premier League. It's said that Alex Ferguson likes the cut of the Malian's jib and the former Real Madrid star made it clear he wants nothing more than to ply his trade in Blighty. 

"Yes, the Premier League is somewhere I would love to play and I'm looking forward to that," Diarra, 30, told Sky Sports. "I have other contacts, but a very good club in England would be my favourite option."

Fulham and Stoke City are also said to be interested in Diarra, though they're probably not the clubs he had in mind when he spoke of his desire to play in the Premier League.

The Metro reckons that Manchester City have accepted defeat in their attempt to sign Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez from Udinese and instead are turning their attention to Mauro Zarate.

With Sanchez said to be "80 per cent" certain of joining Barcelona, the Sky Blues are apparently putting together a package to lure the 24-year-old Zarate from Lazio. The Argentine striker, who had a spell at Birmingham in 2008, was in prolific form in Serie A last season and City are happy to pay Zarate's asking price of £18m.

Finally, according to the Daily Mail, Paris St Germain will dangle £11m under the noses of Manchester United in the hope of enticing striker Dimitar Berbatov to move to the French capital. PSG have recently been bankrolled by a Middle East consortium and with riches now at their disposal one of their first aims is to strengthen their firepower. 

The Mail says PSG believe the Bulgarian frontman fits the bill - though apparently Berbatov has yet to be convinced. ·