At Chelsea the number 11 jersey is something that is irreplacable. It belonged to a legend who gave everything he had to take Chelsea to its peak. The name Didier Drogba used to strike fear into the hearts of the opposition defenders(still does!).Even at the age of 33 he was quite a handful and it took more than one defender to stop his bulldozer run. But that is past. Ever since Didier left the club for new exploits in China the number 11 Jersey has been stored for someone special. But who exactly is that someone?.

When the new signings Eden Hazard, Marko Marin and Kevin De Bruyne arrived it seemed the number 11 would go to one of them surely and Hazard was definitely a safe bet. With him favoring the number 10 and stripping it away from Mata totally out of question, it seemed 11 would go to him. But even he failed in that!. Instead he got number 17. Also giving 11 to Sturridge or Lukaku is certainly ruled out, even though the latter has been dubbed "The new Drogba". Torres is more than comfortable with '9'. So yet again the question arises,"whois going to wear number 11"?.

News all around the web seem to indicate 5 possible candidates and among them three are the most favored. Let's have a look at them. First one is the one and only Hulk. AGE-25.This Porto man has been linked with a move to Chelsea for the past two seasons. He is reportedly very close to signing for them but his enormous transfer fees seem to be a large stumbling block. He is fast, he is strong, has a vicious left foot and is a goal machine. He can play as a centre forward or in the right wing. Certainly the best one to replace Drogba. Totally a "can be done" transfer.

Second comes Bayer Leverkusen's Andre Schurrle. AGE-21.He is an exact ditto of Hulk except when it comes in terms to the size. He had an excellent outing for Germany and is available at half the price of Hulk.But even though Chelsea reportedly bid around 17 million his club is keen to hang on to him. Another "can be done" transfer.

The third favorable one is Stevan Jovetic. AGE-22. He currently plays the trade for Fiorentina. He had an excellent season last term and is often used as second fiddle to a centre forward. Interestingly among the 5 shortlisted candidates he is the only one who is actually put up for sale! The last of the "can be done" list.

The next two are Athletico Madrid's Radamel Falcao and Napoli's Edinson Cavani. Both of them are one of the best strikers available and are rated at 50 million and 35 million respectively. But their clubs have made it clear that they are NOT FOR SALE.

This leaves us hoping that one among the first three comes to Chelsea soon.With the impending Financial Fair Play rules set to kick in , this transfer window is a "now or never" for signing a high profile striker. So it is a safe bet to say the Chelsea Number 11 Jersey will be filled this season. The only question that remains is whether it will be one of the players mentioned above or someone totally "out of the blue"?