And sprinting plays a big part in the big man’s armoury; his pace and touch hinting at Thierry Henry. Allied with strength, these attributes make Didier a type of forward not seen at Stamford Bridge for a long, long time. His reported transfer fee sees him the most expensive striker in British football history.  

Drogba may not have won over all his critics since his big money move from Marseille, but his strong and powerful displays have been important to Chelsea's system.

Sometimes guilty of missing glorious chances and also shooting before considering the options, Drogba is much-maligned by many who feel Hernan Crespo deserves to be the first choice striker.

However, Drogba does continue to improve and as his goal return does the same his doubters will reduce in number.

Ivory Coast international Drogba arrived in French football in 1983, living with his uncle Michel Goba - who had also been a professional footballer in the French Second Division.

But it was a hard path to the full-time game for Drogba.

He began his career as a right-back with Dunkirk, before being converted to a striker during his time with Abbeville.

Then at the age of 15, after joining Vannes, he was out of the game for a year to concentrate on academic studies after he had failed to progress at school.

After his enforced sabbatical he joined Levallois in 1994, before being handed a trial by Guingamp in 1997 - but a broken toe ended his hopes of a move.

He was also attracting interest from the bigger French clubs, including Paris St Germain and Monaco.

Drogba opted to join less glamourous club Le Mans where he was coached by his 'spiritual father', Marc Westerloppe.

The striker was never prolific for Le Mans, and he fell out of favour after Westerloppe had been sacked and replaced by Thierry Goudet.

Guingamp came back in for the player in 2001, and in 2002/03 their faith in the player's ability was repaid with 17 goals. Drogba also won his first ever call-up into the full Ivory Coast squad.

FC Porto, managed by Jose Mourinho, had tried to sign him in the summer of 2002.

In the summer of 2003 he was signed by Marseille for £3.3million. The player enjoyed an outstanding season in the south of France, scoring five Champions League goals despite Marseille's exit in the group stage.

His form continued in the UEFA Cup, bagging a further six goals as Marseille lost out in the final to Valencia.

And in Ligue 1, Drogba plundered 18 goals in 35 games - leading to him being named as Footballer of the Year in France.

After just one season with Marseille, Europe's bigger clubs were showing interest. Juventus had a bid rejected for the striker, but Chelsea were always at the head of the queue.

New Blues boss Mourinho initially had an £18million bid rejected, but finally got his man for an undisclosed fee - believed to be £24million, smashing the British record fee for a striker. It capped an amazing two years for the player, who signed a three-year contract.

Drogba, an immensely powerful striker who will cause trouble for any defence, made his debut for the club in a 1-0 victory over Manchester United on the opening day of the 2004/05 campaign.

The striker bagged his first goal in a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace in his third appearance, but he was ruled out by injury for almost two months at the start of October.

Drogba scored 16 goals in his debut season, but many were not convinced by his contribution considering the £24million fee. Even so, he picked up winners' medals in the Premiership and Carling Cup.

He started the 2005/06 well, keeping Hernan Crespo out of the side and producing much-improved performances. The striker had already bagged nine goals by the end of October.

However, an injury picked up on international duty put him out of action for a few weeks.