Chelsea legend Didier Drogba has heaped praise on the performances of compatriot Nicolas Pepe in Ligue 1 this term. The 23-year-old has been in stellar form for Lille this season with 17 goals and eight assists in the French top-flight and this has kept them on course for a return to next season’s Champions League.
Speaking to Goal.com, Drogba said that he has heard plenty of good things about the progress of Pepe and he is confident that the forward can leapfrog the 19-goal tally, he achieved with Marseille during the 2003-04 season, he told: “He has very good statistics and he will easily exceed my goals record in Ligue 1. He is fast and a complete and efficient player. We need players like him in Ligue 1. I have been hearing about him for some time, especially because he has been part of the Ivorian national team for several years.”
Continue reading “Didier Drogba raves about Lille attacker Nicolas Pepe”
Thereafter, it had been anticipated that the youngster would receive regular gametime with the first team but this has not been the case with manager Maurizio Sarri preferring to go with the seniors who have regularly featured for the team since the beginning of the current campaign. Amidst this, there has been plenty of concern from the faithful regarding the youngster’s future but Zola has stressed that Hudson-Odoi does not have an easy route to the starting line-up, he said: “Sorry, but I disagree with this. He is always on the edge of the team. As soon as there is an opportunity he plays – sometimes from the beginning, sometimes he comes on.
Speaking to reporters, Bamba hailed the qualities of the former Blues ace, who recently retired from the beautiful game, he said: “Didier Drogba was our captain and he was the best striker I ever came up against. What a player, strong with both feet, good in the air and on his day I quickly learned you cannot mark him. It was good experience trying, though!”
Speaking on The Debate, Sidwell highlighted that the club are desperately lacking a physical presence upfront who can regularly contribute to the scoresheet. He added that Giroud has the holding capabilities within himself but Sarri does not seem to favour the services of the former Arsenal man.
Speaking to The Express, Essien said that Hazard is one of the best players in the world and looks fantastic while plying his trade for the Blues. However, the interest from Los Blancos could be hard to refuse for the former Lille graduate, considering they have been his dream club since his childhood days.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Drogba highlighted that he has no plans of playing in the Indian Super League but he would do his part to encourage Indian football, he said:“I think there are other ways to encourage Indian football but I am not going to come out of retirement and play again. Once you announce that you are done it’s good to try to stick to it. I have done and achieved everything in the last 20 years so I think it’s time for me to relax a bit.”
Speaking to the club’s official website, Morata cited that he has room for improvement as a Chelsea player and he is keen on helping the team win matches more than only contributing goals, he said:”I think I can prove more. In the past it wasn’t easy for me, but this is a new season. I think it’s not important if you score 25 or 30 goals, it’s important you help the team to win.
Didier Drogba was one of the latest to acknowledge the brilliant career enjoyed by John Terry, who spent 18 years at Chelsea winning numerous honours. Terry was able to lift Champions League, Premier League, Europa League, and several other domestic honours during his time with the blues. He was hoping for a return back to the Premier League with Aston Villa but those hopes were dashed when the club failed to get promotion last season. Frank Lampard, Jamie Carragher, Michael Ballack, and several other famous names in world football came up with glowing tributes of the 37-year-old. Drogba even claimed that Terry is yet to pay him money owed from a bet.
Despite this, Barnes believes Hazard’s form could be a warning sign for the Blues, given they could struggle when the goals dry up for the Belgian attacker, he said: “I think they are overly reliant on Hazard. I think if Hazard gets injured, they really are overly reliant on him. If he drops form and he doesn’t score, he’s not an out and out scorer. We have spoken and I told him he can score 40 goals. He has to improve some things, but he can do it.”
However, with the new campaign, Barkley has been ever-present for the Blues in the starting lineup and he is now hoping to emulate Lampard by making a regular contribution onto the scoresheet, he said: “He’s someone [Lampard] to look at with the success he achieved for the club and for himself. I’ve played with Frank and I saw what he was like around England, and how much of a top professional he was.He was an idol of mine from when I was a young lad, watching Champions League games and seeing the goals he scored. If I could achieve half of what he did here, then that would be a success. I believe I can hit the 20 goals a season mark.”