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There is no doubt that Didier Drogba is amongst the very best hitmen in the world and, love him or loathe him, he gives Chelsea an extra, aggressive, edge. It was his 16 goals that inspired them to their first Premiership title in 50 years, while his 2006-07 personal best, saw him lift the Golden Boot with 33 goals in all competitions.
However, the following season after the departure of Coach Jose Mourinho, an upset Drogba told Chelsea he wanted to leave for Inter or Milan. He later apologised and eventually won back the fans but something had changed.
This term, while he has been recovering from an operation on a troublesome knee, Chelsea have managed well with Nicolas Anelka scoring goals for fun. Subsequently the Ivorian has once again been linked with a move to Inter.
But just where would 'The Drog' fit in? One of the principal reasons he scored so many goals in 2006-07 was that Chelsea played a 4-4-2 with Andriy Shevchenko alongside Drogba.
Coincidentally, Nerazzurri Coach Mourinho now seems to be returning to that classical 4-4-2 yet has only one certainty, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. In trying to find an ideal partner for the Swede he has used and abused Hernan Crespo, Julio Cruz, Mario Balotelli, Victor Obinna and Adriano. Unfortunately none have been really successful with many of their recent goals coming from midfield or defence.
At the start of the campaign, Ibra was at the point of a 4-3-3 system, taking a battering from defenders. If the Drog was a fixture slightly ahead of him, he could take the knocks, hold the ball up for Ibra to come from deep and, more importantly, score as well.
On the other hand, Drogba will be 31 next March and perhaps Inter should be looking for youth. For Inter to allow Adriano or Balotelli to leave, as has been suggested, would be dangerous. The 26-year-old Brazilian, despite his problems, is a brilliant striker, while Balotelli has the potential to become one of the best in the world.
Finally but very importantly, Ibra says that Inter don't need Drogba claiming they have enough strikers already and insisting that Adriano is the best suited to his style.
Maybe Ibra prefers Adriano to Drogba but he is not the Coach and certainly Mourinho loves the African “like a son” and also highly aware of his qualities. He has worked with him and knows exactly what he is getting but the question remains, do Inter really need him?
For me it is a resounding yes.
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