Several of the greatest midfielders to have played the game have called Stamford Bridge home across the past 120 years, and the individual qualities of each helped the Blues win silverware and create ever-lasting memories for supporters.

And as our Team of 120 vote continues, we reflect upon the contributions of 30 midfielders included on our shortlist, although supporters do have the option of selecting a former blue not highlighted below.

Remember, you have until next week to cast your vote which you can do by clicking the link or via the form at the bottom of this page!

Forwards

Jimmy Thompson

One who burned brightly with 34 goals in just 42 appearances in two seasons at the end of the 1920s, Jimmy was an opportunistic goalscorer who had proved himself at Luton and came alive when the ball was close, securing it with a dash of pace and firing towards goal or rounding the keeper for a tap-in. Scored three or more goals on three occasions.

• Scientific in his shooting but unperturbed if he missed, he netted the last four in a 6-0 home league win against South Shields in 1927

• The east Londoner returned to his home turf to become the scout supreme for Chelsea for many years – discovering Jimmy Greaves and Terry Venables among others

• In his scout days he made a habit of offering his successors as striker a new hat should they beat his 25 league goals in one season, with Roy Bentley falling short but Greaves meeting the challenge

George Mills

Although seven men have since surpassed his goalscoring tally at Chelsea, George will always retain a special place in the club’s history as the first man to hit a century of goals for the Blues.

A tall centre-forward who was physical and skilful in equal measure, his professional career was curtailed by World War Two, but not before he had made a belated debut for England, which was marked in spectacular fashion with a hat-trick against Ireland.

• Included among his considerable collection of goals is Chelsea’s most-recent hat-trick against Liverpool

• Having helped the club to win promotion with 14 goals in 1929/30, despite only making his debut in the December, he eventually totalled 125 goals in 239 games

• Chelsea was his only professional club and after retiring, he served as a coach with us
  

Hughie Gallacher

A true football superstar of the inter-war years, Wee Hughie was slight of frame but despite the rough treatment he received from the defenders of the age, his record in front of goal was fantastic, as it had been in Scotland and at Newcastle, from whom he became our first £10,000 recruit. Though the trophies did not arrive for a team with several big-name signings, he finished as top scorer in each of his four seasons in west London.

• Overall goal record was a prolific 81 scored in 144 games

• Rubbing in Newcastle’s loss, his first Chelsea hat-trick came against the Tynesiders in 1932

• On his first return to St James’ Park as a Chelsea player, such was the interest it is still Newcastle’s record crowd

Dick Spence

Operating wide on the right, Dickie was the only player to make big contributions to the Chelsea cause both pre- and post-World War II.

He scored 66 goals for the club and the last of those marked him down as our oldest goalscorer until Thiago Silva took that record. Prior to the Brazilian, he was our oldest outfield player too at 39 years 57 days.

• Set a club record for goals in a season by a Chelsea winger, with 19 in 1933/34

• Became an important member of the coaching staff for Chelsea Juniors during a golden era at youth-team level

• Competing against the great Stanley Matthews for an England place, he had the talent to win two England caps
  

Eric Parsons

Nicknamed the Rabbit due to his speedy darts down the right wing, Eric was one of only two to play every match of the ‘54/’55 championship campaign during which he weighed in with 11 goals. Having overcome serious knee injury in the early part of his Chelsea career, he was the quickest in the team at the time and a supplier of good crosses for Roy Bentley. A natural athlete (he had been a junior champion), he and Frank Blunstone on the opposite side were among the first wingers to make the effort to help out the full-backs with defending.

• Scored two goals in the 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday which won Chelsea’s first league title

• With his confidence initially low, he had spent his first two seasons in the reserve team and then showed great character to win over an initially unconvinced crowd

• Such was his popularity by the end, the fans on the pitch after the league-winning game called for Eric with chants of ‘We want the Rabbit!’

Frank Blunstone

The young legs in the experienced side that won Chelsea’s first league championship, Frank wore the Chelsea shirt during an 11-year period in which his wing play provided the ammunition for some of our greatest goalscorers. His release from army duty during the autumn of 1954 coincided with the start of our long unbeaten run towards the title and he continued to be influential for the next generations until injury ended his career.

• Overcame the death of his brother days before his debut as an 18-year-old to score the decisive goal in a derby against Tottenham

• Chelsea’s left winger for 12 seasons, he would have played many more than his 347 games had it not been for two leg breaks during his career

• Capped five times by England, he was unlucky to be in the same era as Tom Finney but he was great at dribbling past opponents and sending over pinpoint crosses
  

Barry Bridges

Along with Bobby Tambling, Barry scored the goals that eventually filled the void created by Jimmy Greaves’ departure. Lightning fast across the turf and a lethal finisher, having hit the target on his debut in 1959 he was Chelsea’s highest scorer in 1964/65, a season in which we challenged strongly for the three domestic trophies and won the League Cup.

• Overall goal-rate was an impressive 93 strikes in 205 appearances

• Only 10 men have netted more for the club than Bridges

• In a European campaign in 1965/66, he netted a close-range equaliser against Milan at San Siro, over three decades before Dennis Wise’s more celebrated one there

Bobby Tambling

The holder of Chelsea’s highest-scorer accolade for a massive 45 years until eventually passed by Frank Lampard, Bobby scored a quarter-of-an-hour into his debut aged just 17 and barely stopped throughout the 1960s, as he successfully filled the huge goal-grabbing boots left by Jimmy Greaves.

Even a move to the wing did not slow the goal flow which included five during one trip to Villa, four in a game four times and eight additional hat-tricks.

• His 164 league goals remains a Chelsea record

• Captained the Chelsea promotion-winning team of 1963 aged just 22

• Scored 10 times in 13 matches against Arsenal and was only once on the losing side to the Gunners
  

Peter Houseman

On the left wing he may have lacked the flair of some of the more noteworthy wide players of the 1960s and 70s, but Nobby, as he was known to his team-mates, was a manager’s dream.

His presence, which included deadly accurate crossing, allowed those with more finesse to flourish but he still had his moments, particularly during our run to FA Cup glory in 1970. Though far from a crowd favourite at that time, he was much mourned when he lost his life in a car crash seven years later.

• Rattled in six FA Cup goals in the trophy-winning season, including two in the semi-final and one in the final against Leeds United

• Played in 12 Chelsea seasons

• Versatile enough to operate in midfield or at left-back late in his Chelsea career

Charlie Cooke

The departure of a player the calibre of Terry Venables would normally be felt keenly but Bonnie Prince Charlie’s astute capture by Tommy Docherty guaranteed creativity on tap.

Few can match his dribbling skills whether in central midfield or on the wing and his reputation grew to the extent that Real Madrid built their tactical plan around stopping him in the 1971 Cup Winners’ Cup replay. They failed.

• Also an FA Cup winner in 1970 and he played a key part – with the perfect pass for Ossie’s diving header that equalised at Old Trafford

• Scored brilliantly at West Ham on the first day of the 1966 season to ruin the hosts’ World Cup winners’ homecoming party

• Won two Chelsea Player of the Year awards, seven seasons apart
  

Tommy Baldwin

An energetic forward adored by Chelsea supporters and players alike, Tommy’s team-mates nicknamed him the Sponge while Blues fans declared him ‘the leader of the team’ in one of Stamford Bridge’s favourite terrace chants.

He finished just eight shy of a century of goals for the Blues, but more importantly he played his part in our back-to-back trophy triumphs at the start of the 1970s, netting vital efforts in both cup runs.

• Capable of keeping hold of the ball under pressure and cleverly bringing team-mates into play

• In 1968, he found the target twice in a famous 4-0 win at Old Trafford that shocked recently crowned European champions Man United

• The team’s top scorer in the 1973/74 season

Ian Hutchinson

Peter Osgood’s best mate at the club also proved to be his perfect strike partner, and Hutch was brave beyond belief when going where others feared to tread, allowing Ossie the chance to show off his skills.

The unsung Hutch had his moment in the sun during the two matches of our 1970 FA Cup final triumph over Leeds United, scoring the late equaliser in the first game and then sending over one of his famous ultra-long throws for David Webb to net our winner in the replay.

• This bargain buy at just £2,500 from non-league Cambridge went on to score 58 goals in 144 appearances

• In his first full season, the famous 1969/70 campaign, he contributed 22 goals to a prolific partnership with Peter Osgood which totalled 53

• After two years out due to a plethora of injuries, he scored twice on his comeback in front of an emotional Stamford Bridge crowd
  

Clive Walker

On his day, wing-heeled Clive was virtually unplayable and among his highlights as a Blue are a wonderful goal in an FA Cup upset over European champions Liverpool and coming off the bench to inspire a comeback win from 3-0 down against Bolton.

However, he will forever be remembered most for his goal in the rain in another win over Bolton in 1983. It effectively prevented the club from being relegated to Division Three and almost certain financial ruin.

• The club’s Player of the Season for 1979/80 when he was joint top scorer with 13 goals as we narrowly missed out on promotion, having been moved from winger to striker midway through

• When back on the wing in 1981/82, he recorded his best return of 17 goals

• His contribution to the first of those games against Bolton, when introduced with 20 minutes to go, was a cross for a goal, scoring to make it 3-3, and then crossing for a Sam Allardyce own-goal winner

Paul Canoville

The first Black player to appear in Chelsea’s men’s first team, Canners overcame the considerable challenge of prejudice from a sizeable section of the team’s own support to establish himself during his five years as a Blue.

Canners at his best was a sight to behold with his fast and direct skilful manipulation of the ball, and his performance in a thrilling comeback against Sheffield Wednesday is written in Chelsea folklore.

• At Wednesday he was brought on with Chelsea 3-0 down and scored twice for a 4-3 lead in what ended a draw

• In the Second Division championship side of 1983/84, he scored seven goals including a hat-trick against Swansea and one on the day promotion was won against Leeds

• Followed that season by netting the Blues’ first home goal back in the top flight
  

David Speedie

One half of a legendary combination, alongside Kerry Dixon, which remains one of the best strike pairings in the club’s history, David was as combative as they come.

That allowed this 5ft 6in forward to thrive in the uncompromising football landscape of the Eighties. With a magnetic first touch, sharp finishing, and a spring that gave him remarkable aerial ability for his height, he goes down as one of the great value-for-money signings.

• Bought from Darlington for just £80,000, the former Yorkshire miner scored twice on his debut

• Named Chelsea Player of the Year 1985

• His name went down in history when he netted the first Wembley hat-trick since Geoff Hurst in the 1986 Full Members’ Cup final at Wembley, to help the Blues to a 5-4 win against Manchester City.

Pat Nevin

A winger who shone so brightly as Chelsea dazzled our way out of Division Two in 1983/84, Wee Pat combined breathtaking dribbling skills with the audacity to take on players at will, bamboozling many a full-back along the way as he set up goal after goal for Kerry Dixon and David Speedie.

He could find the target himself regularly too, and a return of 45 goals and countless assists from 242 appearances marks him out as a Blues legend.

• Won two Player of the Year awards, including for the Second Division championship season

• Fans would make sure they were inside Stamford Bridge early just to watch his ball-juggling warm-up before games

• One of the most skilful moments never captured on video was an extraordinarily 80-yard mazy dribble when he beat many of the Newcastle team more than once

Mark Hughes

A Welsh striker who grew up supporting west London’s finest, Sparky ended up playing a big part in bringing the glory days back to Stamford Bridge after his trophy-laden spell with Manchester United.

A partnership with Gianfranco Zola flourished and was the catalyst for our run to FA Cup glory in 1997. In an earlier round, his famous battling qualities petrified Liverpool when he was brought on at half-time and a 2-0 deficit became a 4-2 win.

• The following year he scored a brilliant winner against Vicenza in the semi-final of the Cup Winners’ Cup

• Netted in both legs of the League semi-final too, another trophy the Blues won in 1998

• Voted the Chelsea Player of the Year that historic 1996/97 season, when he was also top scorer

Gianfranco Zola

Perhaps the most universally loved footballer to have starred for Chelsea, Franco’s 312 appearances gave Blues fans far too many magical moments to list in their entirety.

The must-be-mentioned include an airborne backheel flick against Norwich, the Cup Winners’ Cup final-winning blast and turning on a sixpence against Wimbledon to seal our place in the FA Cup final.

• The first Chelsea player to win the Football Writers’ Footballer of the Year award

• His own fans voted him our Player of the Year in 1999 and 2003

• One of our best free-kick takers ever? Just ask Barcelona!

Tore Andre Flo

A young, virtually unknown signed at time when the Blues were recruiting famous and older overseas stars, Tore immediately looked at home and an early hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Spurs at White Hart Lane in 1997 certainly did the Norwegian no harm.

Tall but with a wickedly sharp turn on the ball and precise shooting ability, he went on to score a round 50 goals during his Chelsea career.

• Eight of the goals came in our memorable maiden Champions League campaign, including three across two legs that almost took us past the mighty Barcelona

• Back in Scandinavia, he started our Cup Winners’ Cup final win over Stuttgart in Stockholm

• The scorer of Chelsea’s first two goals of the new millennium, with a double strike at Coventry

Eidur Gudjohnsen

A signing initially overshadowed by the arrival of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Eidur’s calm and composed brand of forward play was soon linking up with the Dutchman to form one of our deadliest strike partnerships ever.

In the later part of his Chelsea career, the Icelander’s intelligence and deft touch allowed him became Jose Mourinho’s ‘blond Maradona’ by dropping deeper and helping us to back-to-back Premier League titles.

• Scored against Liverpool on his very first Chelsea start

• In the peak season of his double act with JFH, he scored 23 of the 52 goals between them

• Found the net against Man United in August 2004 to start off a championship-winning campaign

Damien Duff

The other half of the wing pair unleashed to devasting effect by Jose Mourinho’s three-pronged attack that powered Chelsea to our first Premier League title, Duffer also scored the winner in a League Cup semi-final at Old Trafford on the way to winning that trophy too.

Using his low centre of gravity and superb dribbling ability to prime effect, he created numerous chances and netted 19 goals in total.

• The one-time club-record purchase followed up that first league win in his second season by being part of the squad that made it back-to-back league titles in 2006

• Scored on a famous night during the dazzling 4-2 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League

• Reportedly turned down an offer to join Tottenham due to his love of Chelsea when the time came to leave

Joe Cole

A fan favourite, boyhood Blues fan Joe helped bring back-to-back league titles to his club and scored important goals along the way – not least when he bamboozled the Man United defence on the sunny day that second title was won.

In later seasons he was voted Chelsea Player of the Year and won the Double, lifting the FA Cup in his final Blues game.

• With Chelsea trailing Man United by a point in the 2010 Premier League-title race, what value can be placed on his exquisite back-heeled goal in an April 2-1 win at Old Trafford?

• Scored winners home and away against Liverpool in another championship season five years earlier

• His first career trophy – the League Cup in 2005 when the Reds were also defeated – is part of a complete collection of the major domestic medals

Arjen Robben

After his introduction in 2004 was delayed by injury, the Flying Dutchman hit the ground sprinting and there was simply no stopping Chelsea’s title tilt.

Arjen cut through teams with ease to score outstanding goals and with Damien Duff on the other flank, stretched sides to the point they snapped. It is a pity his time in west London was dogged by injury, but at his best he was truly world class.

• Scored in four games in a row, including two winners, in his second month playing for the Blues

• Also hit the winner in the famous battle of Blackburn in February 2005, a statement victory on the path to our first Premier League title

• Made a major impact in his third and final season as a substitute in both our cup final victories, including crossing for Didier Drogba's winner against Arsenal at Cardiff

Salomon Kalou

A player who initially built his reputation as an impact sub (and set a new club record for appearances off the bench) ended his Chelsea career as a clear first-choice striker, including in his final game – when Bayern were beaten in their own backyard to win the Champions League.

Pace, dribbling ability and a diligent attitude to defensive running often meant Sala was positioned out wide. He scored 60 goals.

• A late equaliser against Spurs in an FA Cup quarter-final kept the Blues on course to win the first final at the new Wembley

• His most famous assist played a big part in taking us to the final of the Champions League for the first time – his cross leading to a Liverpool own-goal in front of the Kop. It’s still celebrated in song today ‘…and that’s why we love Salomon Kalou!’

• Scored one of Chelsea’s eight on the day the league title was captured in 2010, having notched a hat-trick in a 7-0 thumping of Stoke a couple of weeks earlier

Florent Malouda

A place in Chelsea history is guaranteed for Flo as part of the side that triumphed in Munich, in his final Blues game. Previously he had flourished during his second season and he crossed for his close friend Didier Drogba to score in the 2009 FA Cup final.

He would have had his own goal in the same game had goal-line technology been in place when his rocket cannoned down off the crossbar. Between then and becoming a European champion, he was Chelsea Players' Player of the Year the season we won the Double.

• Among 12 assists (and 15 goals) in the 2009/10 season was a cross which Joe Cole back-heeled over the line against Manchester United as we beat our title rivals at Old Trafford

• The following season finished with him as Chelsea’s league top scorer in the campaign

• In the 2012 Champions League final he came on for Ryan Bertrand and continued to shackle Bayern Munich’s dangerous right flank

Nicolas Anelka

A January-transfer-window signing who made a big impact, Nico was our top scorer in two of his three full seasons at the club and was the winner of the Premier League Golden Boot in one of them, 2008/09, with 25 goals. He flourished playing with Didier Drogba and the next season Chelsea won the Double.

• In addition to winning the FA Cup in the Double season, he was part of the team that also lifted that trophy a year earlier in 2009

• The team’s revitalisation that 2008/09 season as the manager changed began with his hat-trick at Watford, then a winner at Villa Park

• One of his best goals from his Golden Boot season was at his former club Arsenal – with a run from halfway and 20-yard finish

Eden Hazard

With a strong case to be labelled our most naturally skilful player, Eden’s seven seasons were packed full of memorable moments as he got better and better.

With supreme dribbling and balance and ability to ride a tackle, he played with a smile and was a defender’s nightmare as he starred in two league title wins, scored an FA Cup final winner, and said farewell with two goals in a European final against big rivals Arsenal.

• No one can match his four Chelsea Player of the Year awards

• Though not an out-and-out striker, he netted 110 goals from his 352 games

• Magical strikes against Tottenham, Arsenal and Liverpool all won Chelsea Goal of the Season

Willian

Having instantly won a place in Chelsea fans’ affections by turning down Tottenham for a move to Stamford Bridge, Willian cemented that place firmly by contributing greatly to two Premier League title wins.

A livewire attacker, many of the Brazilian’s 63 strikes were spectacular and as well as being a goalscorer, he was a skilful enabler who helped those around him rack up goals and assists.

• Played in every Europa League game on the way to Chelsea lifting that trophy in 2019, one of five major honours during his time at the club

• His dead-ball striking ability led to six direct free-kicks scored in half-a-season alone, in a campaign that led to him being crowned Chelsea Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year

• He also claimed the Goal of the Season prize having played multiple parts in a slick move at Brighton

Pedro

Arriving in 2015 with an immense pedigree as a winner at club and international level, it was never likely that Pedro would leave Chelsea without trophies.

His second season he featured in all but three of our Premier League games as we left the rest in our wake en route to our most recent championship title. A European trophy would follow when he netted in the Europa League final against Arsenal.

• A player with the knack of scoring that all-important opening goal, 13 of his 29 Premier League strikes fell into that category

• Scored Goal of the Month winners in important victories over Tottenham and Everton during the 13-game winning run that powered the Blues to the 2016/17 title

• By the time he left he could claim to be the most-decorated player across a whole career to have represented Chelsea

Cole Palmer

It is surely without dispute that ‘Cold’ Palmer enjoyed one of the best debut seasons ever. Initially, his goals were penalties, and he went on to equal Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink’s 12 from 12 record from the spot, but open-play goals and assists soon flowed and at the end of the season he was voted Player of the Year by both the fans and his team-mates, as well as picking up a host of other awards along the way.

His second season has been one of high achievement too, including becoming the first Premier League player to score four goals in the first half of a match.

• A scoring spree in 2023/24 netted 11 goals in just six games, including a hat-trick that turned seemingly certain defeat against Man United into victory

• His first season also served up the Premier League’s Young Player of the Season and PFA Young Player of the Year honours

• Became an England international while at Chelsea and scored for his nation in the European Championship final versus Spain

Centre-forwards

George Hilsdon

The first in the long line of star centre-forwards for Chelsea, ‘Gatling Gun George’ arrived for our second season and scored the goals that took us into the top flight for the first time. He started that rise with five on his debut and 27 in total that season, with tallies of 32 and 27 to follow.

• His six goals scored in an FA Cup tie against Worksop Town is a Chelsea record for a single game

• The first to reach a century of goals for the club – with 108 from 164 games in total

• The Gatling Gun nickname comes from his shooting prowess, likened to a military weapon. The weather vane currently on top of the East Stand is modelled on George

Jack Cock

Given Chelsea’s fashionable location, it is not unsurprising we were home to a player who can be considered the first celebrity footballer. Leaving aside his starring roles singing in local musical halls and in cinemas, Jack was also hugely talented on the pitch – capable of scoring with head or either foot and troubling defences with his athletic abilities.

• Netted 24 times in 30 games in his first season which was Chelsea’s best campaign until the 1955 title win

• Having arrived after the First World War (he was awarded the Military Medal), he scored 43 goals in his four seasons and was the team’s top scorer in three of those. After he moved on, Chelsea dropped into Division Two.

• When winning his first international cap he scored after 30 seconds, setting a record for the fastest debut goal by any England player.
  

Roy Bentley

Our first trophy-winning captain and the star of our 1955 League Championship-winning team, Roy was ahead of his time in adopting a roving style of forward play, often dropping deep or drifting wide to find space, before later in his Blues career sticking at centre-forward.

With a great leap, he was deadly in the air and allied that to rapid acceleration and the ability to score with either foot.

• Amassed 150 goals from 367 appearances, the joint-fifth highest goals total in Chelsea’s history

• Spent eight years at Stamford Bridge and was our top scorer each of those seasons

• Netted 21 times in the title-winning campaign

Jimmy Greaves

Those lucky enough to witness Greavsie play possibly without exception declare him the most natural goalscorer in Chelsea history, if not the history of English football in general.

A goal on debut at Tottenham, four on Christmas Day in his first season – he didn’t look back and by the end of his four seasons, his gliding play, balance, acceleration and complete range of finishes amassed 132 goals at an incredible rate.

They came from just 169 games. Having netted a club record 43 in his final season, few were surprised when the team without him were relegated the following year.

• The scorer of five in a game on three occasions and four another three times

• The youngest ever to 100 league goals in England, reaching that milestone at 20 years and 290 days old

• His total of 13 Chelsea hat-tricks is a Blues best

Peter Osgood

The title King of Stamford Bridge is not bestowed lightly and Ossie is arguably the most outstandingly gifted centre-forward to have played for Chelsea.

Few can rival the incredible connection he struck up with the Blues fans. His arrival from park football aged 17 left team-mates amazed where he had been up until then but he was soon thrilling the crowds. He overcame a broken leg to star on some of the most famous nights in the club’s history.

In all he played 380 games and scored 150 goals. Only four have scored more for the club.

• A diving header equaliser at Old Trafford in the 1970 FA Cup final replay against Leeds ensured he is the most recent to score in every round of the competition

• The following year he put Real Madrid to the sword, scoring in both the European Cup Winners’ Cup final and the replay

• The only player to have a statue in their honour at Stamford Bridge, his ashes are at the Shed End of the pitch

Kerry Dixon

A pure natural goalscorer, Kerry was a key component in the revitalisation of Chelsea having been recruited following our worst season ever.

Big, powerful, fast and the perfect partner for David Speedie up front, he scored twice on debut and went on to add another 191 goals, falling just short of taking the crown worn by Bobby Tambling in that pre-Lampard age.

• Chelsea top scorer in six seasons, he shared the Division One golden boot with 36 goals scored in 1984/85

• When the Blues slipped down the divisions again, Kerry’s 25 goals powered an immediate return to the top flight, with 26 goals the next season in our highest league finish since 1970

• In 1985 he became the first Chelsea player to make an England debut for nine years and would score four goals in eight internationals

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

We equalled the British transfer record when signing as close as you could get to guaranteed goals in the year 2000, and JFH repaid the fee with a scoring ratio few can surpass – 87 goals in 177 games.

His shooting power resembled a meteorite strike but he was an impressive goal-maker too when teamed with Eidur Gudjohnsen in what was the last of the great old-style front-two partnerships for Chelsea.

• Scorer of one of the all-time great Chelsea hat-tricks – and a ‘perfect’ left-foot, right-foot, header one too – as he put Spurs to the sword – and certainly not for the only time

• Fired in a perfect 12 out of 12 penalties taken for the Blues, spot-kick deadliness only matched by Cole Palmer

• In his final season he became the only Chelsea player to come on as a substitute and score a hat-trick, to win a game against Wolves

Gianluca Vialli

An established star of the world game who had just captained Juventus to Champions League glory, Luca’s arrival in 1996 was a true sign Chelsea were going places and within a year we were major trophy winners for the first time in over quarter of a century.

His two goals in an FA Cup fightback against Liverpool played a part in that and typified his predatory movement. Having taken over as player/manager midway through the next campaign it ended with two more trophies.

• A goal slotted through Peter Schmeichel’s legs at Old Trafford became immortalised in Chelsea song

• Scored four in a Premier League game away game at Barnsley the following season, one in which he was the team’s top scorer

• Famously declared at his unveiling his ambition was to become a Chelsea legend and it is one he fulfilled

Didier Drogba

A total of 164 goals place him fourth in the Chelsea all-time list but it is where and when some of those strikes were scored that tells the real tale.

Included are a remarkable nine cup finals goals – one of which kept Chelsea alive in the 2012 Champions League final – ultimately decided by a Didier penalty in the shoot-out. A magnetic personality and massive presence on the pitch – he was a true spearhead through immensely successful times.

• Twice the Premier League Golden Boot winner and a Chelsea Player of the Year

• As well as one for the Champions League win, he has four Premier League winners’ medals, four for the FA Cup and three for the League Cup

• Having returned to the club after two seasons away, he again contributed to a Premier League title in 2015 and was chaired off by team-mates at his final game

Diego Costa

The successor to Didier Drogba as a league-title-winning centre-forward, Diego played with the Ivorian in the first of two such seasons but by then it was he who was the main man.

Highly combative but also quick with good technique, he was well suited to the Premier League bustle and finished as our top scorer in each of his three seasons as a Chelsea player.

• Won two Premier League titles and one League Cup, with his deflected shot helping to beat Spurs at Wembley to win that knockout trophy.

• Hit the ground running with nine goals from his first seven league games, including an away hat-trick at Swansea

• The last of his 59 goals came in his final game for Chelsea, at Wembley against Arsenal albeit in an FA Cup final defeat