Chelsea eyeing “the best 9 in the world” to finally replace Drogba

If you were to ask the Chelsea faithful who the best Premier League striker of the last 20 years was, Didier Drogba would be the most popular answer.

The Ivory Coast international will forever be regarded as a Blues legend for his famous goal in the 2012 Champions League final.

However, Chelsea haven’t had a striker quite as influential since the days of the number nine, despite Diego Costa – who scored 59 goals in 120 games for the Blues – having a strong attempt.

Yet, this summer, Todd Boehly is incredibly keen to sign a true goal scorer who can have a similar impact on Chelsea as Drogba once had.

Chelsea’s search for a new centre forward

As per reports from Spain, Chelsea are interested in signing Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan.

It’s said that Todd Boehly’s keen to sign a ‘world-class’ striker to compete with Nicolas Jackson, with Paris Saint-Germain also in the race.

Reports from Italy, via OneFootball, recently said that Chelsea would have to pay around £94m to secure the signature of the centre forward.

Lautaro Martinez could be Chelsea’s best striker since Drogba

There’s no two ways about it: Martinez has been absolutely fantastic since joining Inter in 2018, becoming one of the best players in Italy.

This season, the number ten played a huge role in Inter winning their second Serie A title with Martinez in the squad, netting an insane 24 goals in 31 starts.

Yet, the Argentine hasn’t only cemented himself as one of the best goal-scorers in Europe; he’s also developed into a true leader, wearing the captain’s armband.

The above sounds very like Drogba, who was known to win games by himself due to his excellent finishing and leadership from the front – the Ivorian netting 164 goals and registering 88 assists in 381 games for the west Londoners.

However, as you can see, what’s the most impressive aspect of the Serie A star’s game is just how consistent he’s been over the years.

This proves that Martinez is a reliable source of goals, which could really help take Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea to the next level next season, as he’s been regarded as “the best 9 in the world” by football podcaster Angelo Gomes.

The former Racing Club youth gem even boasts a better record than Drogba during his last five campaigns at Stamford Bridge, excluding his return season, which highlights just how incredible a signing he truly could be.

Furthermore, when compared to Jackson, Chelsea’s current first-choice number nine, it’s clear that Maresca would be getting a huge upgrade in the striker department.

Unlike the number 15, who’s been rather wasteful in front of goal this season – as evidenced by the number of missed chances – Martinez is the definition of a composed, clinical finisher who tends to stick the ball in the back of the net if given even half a chance, which is often the difference between good strikers and the elite.

Overall, it’s quite clear just how world-class Martinez is, and if Chelsea can acquire the Argentine, the fanbase should be extremely excited about the future of the club.