Chelsea opened up a two point gap at the top of the Premier League this weekend having beaten Newcastle United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge as Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw against Everton at Goodison Park.
Diego Costa was once again amongst the scorers with the Spanish international making the game safe with his 15th strike of the season.
Costa has been a revelation since his move from Atletico Madrid in the summer whilst Jose Mourinho also has Loic Remy and Chelsea legend Didier Droga to call on as back-up.
But given Manchester City look set to add Swansea City’s Wilfried Bony to their attacking options, Mourinho may well have to look at an upgrade on Drogba in the summer – given he is set to turn 37 in May.
Drogba is perhaps considered the best Chelsea striker of all-time and he has shown he is still capable of producing the goods this season with six goals in 24 appearances – many of which have come as a substitute.
But with time ticking on his career, Mourinho will no doubt be busy scouting some replacements to move for in th summer.
Here we have identified five possible candidates.
[ffc-gallery]
Click on Drogba to reveal the 5 ideal replacements for Didier Drogba at Chelsea this summer.
[/ffc-gallery]
Gonzalo Higuain
The Napoli forward has been consistently linked with a move to the Premier League – even before he joined the Serie A club in the summer of 2013.
Higuain is a player Mourinho knows well from his time at Real Madrid and is a proven goal scorer at both club and international level.
He has 13 goals to his name for Napoli this season in all competitions but with the club having recent secured the services of a new striker in Manolo Gabbiadini and with the Italian’s under pressure to comply with the Financial Fair Play rules, Higuain could be offloaded for a fee of around £30 million.
Mario Mandzukic
The Croatian international was linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in the summer until Atletico Madrid snapped him up as a replacement for Chelsea bound Diego Costa.
The former Bayern Munich man has done okay in La Liga but not perhaps what Diego Simeone had been expecting.
He has recently found himself on the bench at the Vicente Calderon whilst the re-signing of former hero Fernando Torres means he will be fighting for a regular starting position given the Spaniard’s reputation at Atletico.
The 28-year-old still boasts a record of 15 goals in 28 appearances this season and would be a welcome addition at Stamford Bridge in the summer if Chelsea could complete a deal.
Jackson Martinez
The 28-year-old is another one who has been consistently linekd with a big money move to the Premier League – with Chelsea being the club mentioned most frequently.
Martinez has been scoring goals for fun in Portugal and has made no secret of his desire for a fresh challenge.
Porto have quoted a figure of £30 million but Chelsea would be confident of landing him for less than that this summer.
Martinez currently boasts a fantastic record of 18 goals in 21 appearances in all competitions this term.
Edinson Cavani
The Uruguayan was understood to be Jose Mourinho’s top target upon his return in the summer of 2013. However, it was Paris Saint-Germain who won the race for his signature, paying £50 million to land Cavani from Napoli.
Despite success in the French capital, Cavani has been continually linked with a move to the Premier League after becoming unhappy at being shafted out wide by Laurent Blanc to accommodate Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the centre forward position of a 4-3-3.
Still regarded as one of the best front men in Europe, Cavani has 13 goals in 24 appearances this season with five of those coming in six Champions League matches.
Saido Berahino
With John Terry nearing the end of his Chelsea career, Jose Mourinho is aware he may have to sign players that help the Blues fill that ‘homegrown’ quota.
In terms of English strikers, Saido Berahino and Harry Kane have been the stars of this season. But whilst Tottenham are unlikely to sell their prized asset to a major London rival, stories linking Berahino with a move away from The Hawthorns continue.
Liverpool and Tottenham are understood to be chasing the England Under-21 international star this month but if Tony Pulis can hang onto his 13 goal striker until the end of the season and he continues scoring at the current rate he is, it would be no surprise if Mourinho came calling in the summer.
