Shanghai Shenhua have a good chance of signing Chelsea [ Images ] striker Didier Drogba [ Images ] but need to work hard to complete the deal, coach Sergio Batista said on Thursday.
Just three days after scoring the winning penalty in Chelsea's shootout victory over Bayern Munich [ Images ] in last month's Champions League [ Images ] final, the Ivory Coast international announced he would be leaving the London [ Images ] club.
"There is a big possibility he will come (to Shenhua) but it will depend on the hard work the club puts into bringing him here," said former Argentina midfielder Batista.
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"It's not as if the club wants someone to come here and they (automatically) come - it is not that simple."
Former Argentina coach Batista took over at big-spending Shanghai at the end of last month, signing a six-month deal to replace sacked Frenchman Jean Tigana.
The Shenhua players, including Drogba's former Chelsea team-mate Nicolas Anelka [ Images ], resumed training on Thursday following a mid-season break.
The club, ninth in the Super League, fired Tigana in April after a poor start to the season and replaced him with interim coach Jean-Florent Ibenge.
Chinese clubs have been splashing out on big-name foreign managers and players to try to raise the profile of domestic soccer.
Last month league leaders Guangzhou Evergrande appointed Italy's [ Images ] former World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi after sacking South Korean Lee Jang-soo.
Drogba, 34, joined Chelsea from Olympique Marseille [ Images ] in 2004 and his menacing physicality was ideally suited to the fast-paced hubbub of the Premier League.
In addition to the Champions League, he also won three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups in a glittering career at Stamford Bridge [ Images ].
Drogba scored 157 times in 341 appearances, making him the club's fourth all-time leading scorer, while his 34 European goals are a Chelsea record.
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