Terry wants Drogba to stay

Cape Town - Chelsea captain John Terry has urged the London club to retain the services of veteran striker Didier Drogba next season.

Drogba, 37, rejoined the Blues on a one-year contract in the summer of 2014, following a one-and-a-half-year spell on the books of Turkish giants Galatasaray.

The former Ivory Coast international found first-team chances hard to come by in the first half of the campaign, due to the excellent goal-scoring form of Diego Costa.

However, he has featured regularly of late, due to the injury-enforced absence of Diego Costa and Loic Remy. And, with his contract set to expire at the end of the current campaign, Terry feels it would be beneficial to retain the services of the experienced striker.

"Let's hope he's in the camp next season," Terry told the Daily Mirror. "He's got a massive part to play on and off the field.

"He's been great because he's had to be patient. Ideally he would have liked a bit more game-time. But Diego Costa hit the ground running, scoring a lot of goals."

He added: "Didier's experience and the way he speaks before the games, after defeats when you're down and you need an old head to help.

"At times we've been worried after defeats and he's said that it happens and we'll bounce back and be alright. When you hear that from someone like him, everyone takes it on board."