As Chelsea’s old guard flee, is one setting sights on a return?
Published:The number of long-serving idols Chelsea fans have to adore next season is quickly diminishing, with the exits of Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole leaving supporters slightly short on heroes.
However, Jose Mourinho could be making moves to placate that, with an attempt to land his favourite Chelsea forward, Didier Drogba, on a free transfer this summer.
Diego Costa is all but pictured holding his ceremonial Chelsea shirt, having agreed a £32m switch to Stamford Bridge, but with the Portuguese boss bemoaning the efforts of Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto’o and Demba Ba all season long, another striking arrival isn’t out of the question.
Drogba, who is the joint-4/1 favourite with Yaya Toure to be the Ivory Coast’s top scorer at the World Cup, always enjoyed a stellar relationship with Mourinho at Chelsea, despite the Special One’s sometimes uncanny ability to fall out with players.
The former Real Madrid boss has never been shy about lashing praise on the former Chelsea hitman either and, with back up to Costa clearly needed, obviously eyes the 36-year-old as the perfect option to deputise for the Brazilian-turned-Spaniard.
Drogba will be available on a free transfer after his contract with Galatasaray, where he scored 15 league goals in 37 appearances, expired.
Although signing the Ivorian would be out of kilter with Chelsea’s new youth-based policy, a switch that saw both Cole and Lampard released from the club, Drogba’s arrival would suit the Blues next season, where they are 11/5 to win the Premier League title.
The return of their Champions League hero, when Galatasaray faced Chelsea in the elite European competition, was greeted with such fanfare by the Chelsea crowd that Drogba’s return has no danger of backfiring.
It would also allow Mourinho to continue playing his preferred style with another one of his disciples in his ranks.
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