Diego Costa Can Be Chelsea's New Didier Drogba so Must Stay at Stamford Bridge

Disciplinary problems. Talk of a potential transfer back to the club he left to join Chelsea. Two up-and-down seasons in the Premier League. Sound familiar?

It will for Chelsea fans with a good memory, as Didier Drogba went through it all at Stamford Bridge when he first arrived in west London. It took him a long while to earn the hero status bestowed upon him when he left the club as a UEFA Champions League winner in 2012.

Drogba was far from the most popular player in England in the early stages of his career—even among Chelsea fans. He was public enemy No. 1 in the eyes of the media, who regularly accused him of diving. At one point, Drogba himself even seemed to confess to partaking in simulation.

Fast-forward to the present day, and Diego Costa appears to be mirroring Drogba's past. After his sending off against Everton at the weekend, he's been on the receiving end of the backlash for his "bite" on Gareth Barry, with criticism of Costa rarely being off the back pages.

Earlier this season, it was a perceived bad attitude and lack of commitment. Now it's his character being put under the spotlight.

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On the back of it all, rumours of a return to Atletico Madrid (via the Guardian's Jacob Steinberg) are surfacing. Like Chelsea did 10 years ago when interest in Drogba from Marseille was being reported, the Blues must take stock of what they have in order to keep Costa in west London.

The controversies that followed Drogba proved worth it, as eventually his ability as a footballer came to define his career. The same can happen for Costa.

The Spain international isn't your normal front man. Like most, he will suffer from a barren spell in front of goal, but since Christmas, he has shown what a class act he is.

We've seen Costa prove he's the perfect candidate for Chelsea to finally replace Drogba.

Since 2012, Chelsea have been looking to do that. The plans were put in place when Fernando Torres was signed for £50 million a year earlier, but that gamble failed spectacularly. We've seen others come and go in the meantime, with Costa the only striker to consistently find himself on the scoresheet.

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It hasn't just been his goals, either. He's played with the presence and confidence every successful striker needs. He hasn't been fazed by the challenge, rather meeting it head on.

Whereas Costa functioned as part of Jose Mourinho's slick machine last season, he's rediscovered his best now when Chelsea have been at their lowest ebb. The club have needed something to latch on to this season in their attempts to salvage some hope, and when it's mattered most, Costa has been there scoring goals.

Facing Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League proved one challenge too many for this broken side, but the fact that they were still in the game before Zlatan Ibrahimovic's killer blow in the second leg was largely down to Costa.

When he went off injured at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea crumbled without him.

Costa's first-half equaliser that night was Drogba-esque. Not only was it executed with the calm, collected precision of an expert marksman, it delivered hope that Chelsea could overcome the odds and defeat their opponents.

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There was a real sense of something happening in west London that night, although Chelsea eventually came up short.

Drogba did that time and again in a Chelsea shirt, giving the club hope when all seemed to be lost. So often his goals delivered the rallying cry his team-mates needed, and they often responded.

The difference between Drogba's Chelsea and Costa's is that those players around the latter aren't quite capable of reacting in the same way. So as Chelsea look to build for their next generation, the task is to find the next Frank Lampard and John Terry to ensure they can.

Chelsea have their Drogba already, though. Costa has shown he can be their match-winner at key moments. He can be the striker who delivers the silverware that will define this next generation.

Chelsea made Drogba the player he became, and the club can do the same for Costa. Allowing him to leave now would be folly of the highest order.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.