There appears to be some smoke behind the Didier Drogba fire in Montreal.

Speaking to TSN Radio Montreal 690 on Monday, Impact president Joey Saputo said that his club has, in fact, been in contact with the Ivorian striker.

"This past Friday I had the pleasure of speaking directly to Didier about the opportunity of coming to Montreal," Saputo told TSN Soccer Analyst Noel Butler on 690's Oranges at Halftime. 

Word broke late last week that the 37-year-old was interested in a move to North America, but on Friday the Chicago Fire were believed to be the front-runners, due to him being on the team's discovery list and effectively giving them first crack at the striker's MLS rights. Saputo confirmed that negotiations are ongoing between Drogba and Chicago, but expressed optimism that the door was not yet closed for the Impact.

Saputo did stop short, however, of discussing the possibility of trading with the Fire to make a Drogba deal happen.

"Honestly, there hasn't been any other discussion with the league concerning Didier or even the aspect of Chicago, making a trade with them, looking to get their spot and whatnot. We're not at that point yet," Saputo said. He added: "I know that Chicago is working tremendously hard to try to bring Didier to [the Fire] and, as you know, Didier is a player that would do well in any market."

"We just feel that, in this particular market, (being) French-speaking, that Didier would be an instant success," said Saputo. "We definitely would love to see Didier in another shade of blue this upcoming season."

As Chelsea readies for its North American tour, Drogba's talks with the Impact have heated up. The Blues visit the new York Red Bulls on Thursday - minus Drogba, who has left the team - and have reportedly been training in Montreal prior to the trip.

Butler stressed an easy fit between the two sides on Saturday, hitting on the exact point Saputo reiterated on Monday, a common language. "So advanced and intense have been those discussions that of late, they have been carried out in French, the Ivorian legend's native tongue," he wrote on Saturday.

"He didn't hide the fact that Montreal would be a perfect fit for him. The conversation with Didier was then completely in French, which was comforting for him," Saputo said. "He asked about the city. He asked about the schooling and the kids and whatnot, which is something that was very important to him."

"We're not going to hide the fact that Didier checks a lot of the boxes of what we would like to see in what we would call a designated player," Saputo added. "It's not that we don't want to spend, but we'll spend if we feel it's the right player that can not just help us on the field but off the field and anyone who has had the opportunity to either play or be around Didier knows that he brings a lot more than just his talent on the field."

However, MLS is not alone in pursuing Drogba with Inter Milan rumoured to be interested as well as a Qatari team believed to be in the running, per ESPN.com's Friday report.

Saputo did tell TSN Radio that Drogba told him personally that he has not been in contact with Inter.

Once one of the world's most feared attackers, the 37-year-old has seen his role reduced in recent years. He appeared in 26 Barclays Premier League games with Chelsea in 2014-15, scoring four goals. He made 12 additional appearances between the FA and League Cups as well as the UEFA Champions League, scoring three additional goals.

Drogba broke into European soccer with Le Mans in 1998-99 and became a dominant striker between 2002 and 2004 with Guingamp and later Marseille. It was at Marseille that he caught the eye of Chelsea and earned a transfer to England.

He would play a large role in the London-based club's rise to dominance in England's top flight. Over eight seasons with the blues, Drogba scored 157 goals across all competitions, appearing in 341 matches. His achievements over that time included three Premier League titles, two League Cups and four FA Cups. He won two Premier League Golden Boots and countless awards for his international play with the Ivory Coast.

What was arguably his greatest moment with the club proved to be his last before leaving. He scored the equalizer in the 2012 Champions League Final against Bayern Munich to send the match to extra time and converted the penalty that sealed the club's first ever UEFA Champions League title.

He left for China's Shenhua Shanghai the following season, where he made 11 appearances. He returned to Europe in 2012-13, joining Turkey's Galatasaray.

Chelsea brought the popular Ivorian back for this past Premier League season. 

Drogba has made 42 career international appearances for the Ivory Coast, scoring 23 goals. He appeared for his nation at three FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014) and five African Cup of Nations.

As for the likelihood of Drogba being unveiled as the Impact's newest star attraction? Saputo couldn't commit.

"It's difficult to pinpoint it now," he told Butler. "The only thing that I can say is that we've had the opportunity to speak with him ... He feels that we're not far away from being a competitive team on a day-to-day basis in this particular league. He likes what he's seen and he likes what he's heard, so the ball's in his court now. I know that Chicago is still pursuing him, and rightly so. We just hope that we come out on top."