Manchester City have no interest in signing the former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. The Premier League champions have been linked with a surprise move for the veteran Ivory Coast player after losing Álvaro Negredo for the start of the season.
Negredo is expected to be out for a few months with a broken metatarsal, leaving Manuel Pellegrini short of attacking options, but a move for Drogba is not being considered.
The 36-year-old is available after leaving Galatasaray at the end of last season and there have also been suggestions he could return to Chelsea on a short-term deal, two years after helping them win the Champions League.
City are yet to indicate whether they will look for attacking reinforcements. Negredo was injured playing in a pre-season friendly against Hearts last Friday.
Earlier in the week Negredo, 28, had attempted to quell speculation over his future by announcing that he was happy at City. The former Sevilla player had been linked with a return to Spain following reports he was unsettled.
Negredo made an immediate impact following his £20m arrival at the Etihad Stadium last summer but the last of his 23 goals in the 2013-14 campaign came in January. He was unable to rediscover his best form in the second half of the season after recovering from a shoulder injury and that slump cost him a place in Spain’s World Cup squad.
“I will be back stronger than ever,” Negredo wrote on Instagram of his latest setback. “I will return with a vengeance.”
The make-up of City’s forward line could be a cause for concern with Sergio Agüero having been hampered by muscle injuries throughout 2014. Stevan Jovetic also had an injury-hit first season at the club.
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Source: The Guardian