Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink has insisted that there is no plan in place for Didier Drogba to return to the club in any capacity as of yet.
The former Ivory Coast international was widely expected to take up a coaching role at Stamford Bridge after being spotted twice at the ground since Hiddink’s arrival.
However, after the Chelsea icon denied talk of a return on social media, Hiddink has also moved to confirm that any position for Drogba is on hold as he will continue for another year with Montreal Impact in MLS.
“In the short term, no, but in the longer term we talked about players with a big image for this club being welcome,” the Dutch tactician said, as reported by ESPN FC.
“There’s no time issue on this so I wish him all the best now in one of his later seasons.”
The 37-year-old confirmed this week that he is travelling to Qatar to prepare for pre-season training with Impact, as he looks to build a successful first campaign with the franchise.
Drogba scored 11 goals in 11 matches to fire the team to the Eastern Conference semi-finals as they look to make further progress with the veteran’s contract running until December this year.
Whether or not he has a longer stint Stateside remains to be seen, but it is clear that the door is always open in west London at least while Hiddink is in charge.
The Dutchman was appointed on an interim basis last month after replacing Jose Mourinho, but it is unclear as to whether a long-term appointment in the summer shares the same sentiment and would want Drogba to join the backroom staff.