Branislav Ivanovic has returned to Chelsea training after missing time with injury and is available for tonight's match at Southampton, but just as it's been the case since the loss to Arsenal, he's highly unlikely to start or even play, unless some sort of emergency occurs. Despite signing a new one-year contract extension last season, his time at Chelsea seems to be drawing to a close.
One would assume he's unlikely to be offered a new contract at this point, but, like others in his situation previously, he's probably a bit too young to call it a day just yet. What new adventures might await him?
8. Branislav Ivanovic weighing up offers from Europe AND the Far East https://t.co/GOusgU06ga pic.twitter.com/CEJVnapaCI
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) October 29, 2016
According to the Mirror, he's got a whole host of options. There's supposedly interest from West Ham and Crystal Palace, as well as continental options in Olympique Marseille and Inter Milan. There's also the Chinese option with Jiangsu Suning (where Ramires plays), which is apparently the one he's being urged to consider strongly. One would assume the Chinese Super League would be most likely to provide Bane with one final handsome payday.
It would nothing less than Ivanovic would deserve, after a long and successful career in top level football.