Andy Gray: Why Chelsea selling Drogba will benefit Torres, Sturridge

Sharethematch.com ambassador Andy Gray was talking to Ben Baker, exclusively for tribalfootball.com.

THERE HAS been a lot of talk about Didier Drogba and whether he is staying or going at Stamford Bridge and while I think he still has what it takes to be a success in the Premier League, I am not surprised one bit.

I think if you are approaching 34 years of age then you are very close to the end of your career and Didier Drogba has to realise that and I think he does.

And if you are Chelsea you have to look at the future. Now is the future your 34-year-old or is the future a 27-year-old that you have spent £50million on? It seems to me it is the latter.

Now that doesn’t mean that Chelsea should get rid of Drogba just like that but if it is for the better for Fernando Torres, if there is a problem with them and we don’t know that because we don’t train with them every day, but if Torres finds it difficult to function in the shadow of Drogba then maybe it is in Chelsea’s best interest to let him go – that is for them to decide.

Torres looks to me like he is finding some of his form from his Liverpool days again, he looks a little happier and his last performance was probably his best for some time.

And I think with Drogba his class is still there for all to see, even though he isn’t getting any younger.

It is a big decision that Chelsea have to make with Drogba because they either commit to a lot of money with him and offer him a new contract or they say ‘OK, thank you, but it is time to move on’.

And that will be a big decision for Andre Villas-Boas to make, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he went.

When you consider that Villas-Boas is trying to reduce the average age of the side, that is one way of doing it.

And I certainly think the decision will be made a lot easier if Torres finishes the season well.

If he gets ten goals from now until the end of the season and helps Chelsea to the Champions League final then you would think that makes the decision a lot easier.

Another thing that makes the decision to let Drogba go is the form of Daniel Sturridge and I think he has done pretty well this year.

I was a little disappointed in him to see talking about wanting more money, and wanting to be paid more.

Daniel seems to be a nice level-headed lad but he has previous with this as he left Manchester City because he felt that he wasn’t getting paid enough money.

But he has to remember that he is still in his formative years and if I was Sturridge’s agent then my advice to him would be ‘listen Daniel, make yourself a point of making yourself a permanent fixture in this team and if you do that then Daniel Sturridge will never have to worry about money again in his life’.

If I was Sturridge then I wouldn’t be concentrating and worrying about how much money I earn, I would be concentrating on getting my football right, concentrating on learning my trade and if Daniel does that and continues to improve in the way that he has he will never have to worry about money again.

His talent will be all that he needs to answer any questions with and of course if he continues to play well then Villas-Boas might decide that it is another reason to let Drogba go.

 
Andy Gray is an official ambassador for Sharethematch.com – Football’s Social Network. Available now for FREE online or at the App Store; http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/share-the-match/id450784289?mt=8