Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
© Reuters
Plenty of eyebrows were raised when Chelsea spent £24m on a player with less than three years of top-flight experience in France back in 2004, but now Didier Drogba's name is mentioned in the argument of the club's greatest ever players.
The Ivorian's debut season saw Chelsea end a 50-year wait for the English title, and he won a second Premier League crown one year later.
Both campaigns saw fairly modest goal returns for the striker, though, and it was not until 2006-07 that Drogba really began to establish himself as one of the league's best frontmen, scoring 33 times across all competitions including 20 in the Premier League.
Drogba's best season came in 2009-10 when he plundered 37 goals in 44 games - including 29 in just 32 league outings - to help Chelsea to another Premier League title.
The ultimate big-game player, scoring nine goals in as many finals for the club, Drogba forever sealed his place in Chelsea history with the winning penalty in the 2012 Champions League showpiece - having equalised in normal time too.
A brief return to Chelsea in 2014-15 saw him add a fourth Premier League title to his honours list and take his final tally up to 104 Premier League goals.
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Barney Corkhill
