If there is one player that Chelsea have never truly replaced from their brilliant squad of the Noughties and 2010s, it is Ivorian striker Didier Drogba. The four-time Premier League winner was brilliant for the Blues over a stretch of 381 gaes, scoring 164 goals in that time, and adding 88 assists. Costa actually played one season with the great striker, in 2014/15, when Drogba returned to Stamford Bridge for a second tenure on a one-year deal. The Spain international scored 59 goals and tallied 21 assists in just 120 appearances in three seasons at Stamford Bridge. It was a short but wonderful spell in blue.As for Giroud, he played 199 times for Chelsea between 2017 and 2021, scoring 39 goals and earning 14 assists. He joined the Blues from London rivals Arsenal, winning the Europa League and the Champions League during his stay with the club, something he did not do with the Gunners.As brilliant as Costa and Giroud were, they still were not long-term solutions to Chelsea’s centre-forward woes. However, this might be the summer they finally replace Drogba, having been linked to one of the most dangerous number nines in the world in recent weeks.The player in question here is Napoli and Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen. The 25-year-old has had two good seasons for Napoli despite some injury concerns, which has prompted him to be linked with numerous large teams throughout Europe.However, the piece adds that, before the Blues can make a bid for Osimhen, they must first unload players in order to finance the striker and adhere with financial fair play (FFP) standards.In terms of a price for Osimhen, it seems the Stamford Bridge side will need to raise a substantial sum of money. As per the article, Napoli originally demanded for an eye-watering £145m, but have recently decreased their asking price to £102m, understood to be a release provision in Osimhen’s  contract. There is no question that Osimhen will deliver one thing Chelsea need more than anything; goals. His record over the previous two seasons in Serie A speaks for itself, and, despite a terrible season for Napoli in the defence of their Scudetto championship, Osimhen nevertheless hit the back of the goal regularly.He scored 15 goals in 25 Serie A appearances this season, backing up the impressive 26 goals in 32 games he scored in the 2022/23 campaign. Although he missed 10 games due to injury, plus five games due to his national team call-up for Nigeria at AFCON in January, his record speaks for itself.

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