Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola says that Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa can certainly replace Didier Drogba at the club. Chelsea have struggled to score goals in the last two seasons after the exit of the Ivory Coast hitman. Drogba was the main striker at the club for eight years from 2004 to 2012. During this time, the club had an incredibly successful period. They won numerous trophies and it was largely down to the scoring abilities of the 36-year-old. He scored in nine different finals over the span of his Chelsea career – including the Champions League final equaliser against Bayern Munich.
Chelsea are widely believed to be close to securing the signing of Costa for around £ 32 million. Several rumours yesterday surfaced stating that the club had agreed a deal for the Spanish international and that the deal will be announced after the league season comes to a close. Jose Mourinho has been widely stating that he will be trying to sign a top class centre forward in the summer. Zola, who scored several goals for the blues, says that he has no doubt that Costa will be the perfect replacement for Drogba, who is yet to be replaced at the club according to him.
The 25-year-old has scored 35 goals in just 41 matches this season.
“I was very impressed with him in the Champions League match but he has made me sit up and take notice on plenty of occasions. I like him because he’s one of those strikers who is happy to play up front on his own. Costa is a real handful for any defence. He can still be dangerous and score goals and that is very similar to Didier Drogba. Since he left, that is the missing part of the puzzle,” said Zola to the Sun.