Chelsea Transfers: 5 Players Di Matteo Must Buy To Catch City

1. Hulk

Now that Didier Drogba has left the club for Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua, Hulk is seen by many as a direct replacement. At 5 foot eleven and with a muscular build (the clue is in the name) he possesses all the strength of Drogba and is only 25. He began his career in the country of his birth - Brazil - for Esporte Clube Vitória. He spent only one season in Brazil before being loaned to Japanese side Kawasaki Frontale in 2005. He immediately found himself loaned yet again, this time to second division Consadole Sapporo, where he played all the 2006 season. He managed 25 strikes, one less than the top scorer, at the age of just 19. In 2007, Hulk was loaned yet again to a second division team, Tokyo Verdy, where he was even more effective. This time he scored 37 goals in 42 matches to become top goalscorer of the season. He briefly returned to Kawasaki in 2008, but rejoined Verdy after only two matches. His career was about to take another complicated twist however. After his stay in Japan, he moved to Portugal and signed for defending champions Porto, who bought 50% of the player's rights for ‚5.5 million, from Uruguayan side C.A. Rentistas, with the transfer fee being received by an unnamed investor. Whilst his career thus far has been unpredictable, murky and inconsistent, there is one thing that needs making abundantly clear - in 166 appearances for Porto, he has scored 76 goals and created 55 assists. He has won the UEFA Europa League once, the Primeira Liga, Taça de Portugal and the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira three times as well as the UEFA Super Cup. A proven winner, he'd fit right in at Stamford Bridge.
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Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.