Drogba: Yaya is new Vieira

Didier Drogba believes Yaya Toure is the new Patrick Vieira.

Didier Drogba believes highly-rated Olympiakos midfielder Yaya Toure would be a perfect recruit for Chelsea.

The Ivory Coast attacker is an admirer of his international colleague and is not surprised clubs like Manchester United and Lyon have been monitoring his progess in Greece.

Toure, younger brother of Arsenal defender Kolo, has been tipped to make a major impact in Germany following the African side's qualification for the World Cup finals for the first time.

"Yaya Toure is the new Patrick Vieira," Drogba told Protathlitis. "He has the same body type. He is also tall and strong and has great technique, like Vieira.

"I think that, very soon, Yaya will be in the Ivory Coast line-up and he will be one of the best midfielders.

"I watch him in the Champions League games. We all saw that he has been excellent so far, especially against Lyon, when he was fantastic.

"Yaya is very happy at Olympiakos because they are a very big European club that plays Champions League football each year. He has already made a step forward in his career. But I think he has the quality to play even higher, at a top European club."

Toure has been converted into a holding midfielder after leaving Shakhtar Donetsk and his leggy style has drawn the inevitable comparisons with Juventus star Vieira.

"If he [Jose Mourinho] asks me for my opinion about Yaya, I will tell him that he is a great player," enthused Drogba. "We already have world-class players at Chelsea, like Frank Lampard for example, but I think that, if Yaya keeps working like he is now, some day he will be able to wear the shirt of Chelsea."