The Stats That Show Diego Costa Has Stepped Out of Didier Drogba's Shadow

It seems that Chelsea's Diego Costa couldn't be more like Didier Drogba, even if he tried.

Now in his third season at Stamford Bridge, the Spain international continues to make no secret of his affections for former club Atletico Madrid. Much like when Drogba joined Chelsea from Marseille in 2004, Costa's feeling homesick.

"A little," was the striker's response this week when asked by Spanish media if he misses Madrid, per ESPN. "I like Madrid a lot, have had some very happy moments here. But I'm very happy in London. I always follow Atletico and watch what they're doing. They're doing really well, and I am so happy for them."

We heard similar from Drogba over a decade ago. He was struggling to settle in the Premier League and was often on the back pages for all the wrong reasons. Sound familiar?

ANDREW YATES/Getty Images

That's all off the pitch, of course. On it, Costa isn't just replicating Drogba's goalscoring form in Chelsea blue—he's beginning to surpass it.

The mere mention of Drogba's name has been enough to crumble the confidence of strikers in west London. The Ivorian's shadow is cast so far and wide that few have ever come close to matching his exploits.

It takes a special sort of character to overcome that; it takes a player of Costa's mettle. He's showing signs of maturing into Drogba's long-term replacement. The heir to the throne is getting ready to take his seat.

Age	28
Apps	7
Goals	5
Assists	1
Shots (on target)	18 (10)
Conversion rate	28%
Fouls against	8
Fouls committed	16
Yellow cards	2
Points won	4

Statistics don't lie. Yes, we can manipulate them to tell part of a story, but compare Costa and Drogba, and we see a pattern that is emerging. Take this season, for instance.

In 2006/07, Drogba had his breakthrough campaign in a Chelsea shirt. The penny dropped; it was the time when he started to truly deliver on that £24 million investment. His perceived attempts at feigning injury and conning referees were replaced with goals. Simply by staying on his feet, Drogba became unplayable, and Chelsea fans loved him for it.

From scoring 16 goals in each of his first two seasons at Chelsea, Drogba doubled that tally in 2006/07, bagging 33. The last of those came in the FA Cup final to beat Manchester United 1-0 in the first competitive game staged at the revamped venue. It meant that in three seasons, Chelsea had cleaned up in England, winning every major honour going, including back-to-back titles.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Drogba was writing his name into history. He was becoming the player who would make up such a rich part of Chelsea folklore.

Costa's showing now that he can do the same, only at this stage, his scoring record is better than Drogba's.

In 2014/15 and 2015/16, Costa's combined goals return in blue was 36. In that first season, he won Chelsea the title with his form, while last year he helped steer the club free of a potential relegation scrap.

Age	27
Apps	7
Goals	6
Assists	2
Shots (on target)	22 (13)
Conversion rate	27%
Fouls against	21
Fouls committed	8
Yellow cards	4
Points won	7

For all the criticism of Costa, when he found his feet after a dreadful start last term, he outperformed every one of his team-mates. No player was as clinical in front of goal; no player ended the campaign as essential.

Indeed, were fans voting for their Player of the Year based on form from Boxing Day to May, Costa would have probably pipped Willian to the award. Costa scored 12 times in 20 games in that run—a strike rate that compares with his 2014/15 form.

He was doing it in a struggling side, which is what impressed most. Costa was leading the attack for a team that was low on confidence and lacked any real direction. The season was already over by the time Jose Mourinho was sacked in December 2015, but still Costa fired in the goals.

Now under Antonio Conte, he has upped his game further. Now Costa's showing he can go on to outperform Drogba's exploits in the long term.

IAN KINGTON/Getty Images

Heading into the 2006/07 October international break—the very season when Drogba became Drogba—he had scored five goals in seven appearances. Drogba had one assist to his name, with a strike conversion rate of 28 per cent.

It was up there with most strikers in world football, and now Costa is continuing to do the same.

The Spain international already has six goals to his name from Chelsea's opening seven matches ahead of the most recent international break. Not only that, he has more assists than Drogba (two), with his conversion rate almost identical (27 per cent).

Costa isn't doing this in a team that boasts Frank Lampard, Arjen Robben and Michael Ballack, either. Chelsea are struggling, but Costa isn't. He's becoming the linchpin for everything Chelsea are achieving under Conte, when we consider their attacking threat.

LINDSEY PARNABY/Getty Images

Even when it comes to free-kicks, we can see how vital Costa is to Chelsea's strategy. He has been fouled 21 times this season—more than any other player—showing how defences are targeting him.

Now, we can suggest that it has more to do with the dark arts being applied, that defenders are attempting to get a rise out of Costa in order for him to retaliate. But that's too easy; when a striker is scoring as prolifically as he is right now, we have to look at it differently. Opponents are trying to stop Costa by any means necessary; when they don't, he scores past them.

Costa has scored half his team's 12 goals in the Premier League this term; he's been involved in a third of them. Contrast that with Drogba from a decade ago, when Chelsea had scored the same number of goals with him in the team, and we begin to see how Costa is edging him out.

That shadow of Drogba's isn't looking as intimidating. Chelsea seem to have finally found their replacement for the player who did so much to deliver the success they have enjoyed since Roman Abramovich took ownership.

Now for the rest of the team.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes.