Chelsea to hold Drogba talks

London - Chelsea chairperson Bruce Buck says the club will hold talks with forward Didier Drogba about a new contract next week and hopes to appoint a permanent manager "sooner rather than later."

Drogba, who scored the decisive penalty to defeat Bayern Munich in the shootout of the Champions League final on Saturday, is out of contract next month.

The 34-year-old Ivory Coast international joined the west London club from Marseille in 2004.

Buck said on Sunday that Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay is likely "to sit down with his (Drogba's) agent this week and we'll see where it goes."

Buck added that the club intends to appoint a permanent manager prior to the pre-season tour of the United States that starts with a match against the Seattle Sounders on July 18.