Introducing Drogba 2.0: Is this 17-year-old star Chelsea’s next great No.9?

Could a striker hailed as a “miracle” by former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho be the solution to the Blues’ long-standing search for a centre-forward?

Chelsea splashed out a combined €100 million to sign Joao Pedro and Liam Delap from Brighton and Ipswich respectively last summer. While the Brazilian has shown some promise, Delap, who has been hampered by injury and has struggled for minutes, has netted just one goal in 17 Premier League outings.

Already, the West London side are hunting more options. Emmanuel Emegha will arrive from Strasbourg in the summer, but questions over his attitude have emerged since that deal was struck.

Ever vigilant for up-and-coming talent, Chelsea’s eyes will have turned towards Portugal, and specifically Benfica, where Anisio Cabral is emerging under the guidance of Jose Mourinho.

Anisio Cabral: A profile reminiscent of Drogba

The 17-year-old battering ram, who stands at 187cm, has already received the highest praise from the former Chelsea boss.

“He reminds me of Drogba,” Mourinho said of Anisio. “The physicality, his play with his back to goal and the runs in behind. And he’s very quick to get his shots away.

The press have seized upon this quote, dubbing the teenager a reboot of the legendary Ivorian, whose header was the catalyst for Chelsea’s 2012 Champions League success.

Given that Anisio has only played three times for Benfica’s first team, the hype is enormous. However, in just 20 minutes of action, he has already found the net twice for Mourinho’s side, notably grabbing a late winner against Alverca on 8 February.

There are certain aspects of his game that might even be better than Drogba. Spanish outlet Marca has raved: “He appears to have better technical skills, despite being close to 1.9m tall… And his goal scoring instinct stands out. He’s only needed three shots in 20 minutes to score his first goals.”

An impressive body of work at youth international level has offered fuel to this excitement. Anisio sparkled as Portugal won the U17 World Cup for the first time in 2025. He was a member of an attack that combined for 23 strikes, while he personally won the Silver Boot with seven goals, including the only goal of the final.

Mourinho on the ‘miracle’ on Anisio

Mourinho is doing his best to cool expectations on his young attacker, who could make his Champions League debut against Real Madrid next week.

“Calm down!” he said. “He needs to keep working and improving.

“You’ll call me an idiot, but his heading game isn’t good. And with the physical build he has, heading is something he needs to work on.

“He reminds me of Drogba with his back to goal, but Drogba used to score five headers from five crosses. He’s scored two from two crosses, but I think it was a miracle because he’s not good with his head!”

What next for Anisio?

Clearly, Anisio has a long way to go to reach the heights of Drogba, but after such an explosive start in senior football clubs all over Europe will have their eyes on this teenage talent.

The situation is fluid, too. His contract at Benfica runs until 2027, providing an opportunity that clubs will be tempted to exploit.

And given Chelsea’s history with Drogba and their love of signing the next big thing, the Blues are likely to be at the front of the queue when it comes to tracking him.

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