Chelsea legend Didier Drogba could end up with Chicago Fire

If reports from ESPN's Jeff Carlisle are on point, the Chicago Fire are about to add an English Premier League legend in an attempt to jump-start their stalled 2015 campaign. Carlisle is reporting that the Fire, bogged down at the foot of the MLS table, are the leading contenders to sign former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba.

Drogba needs little introduction to any fan of the world game. A physical marvel, the Ivorian target man simply overwhelmed even very good defenders when on-form in his prime. 104 goals in 254 appearances for Chelsea: Ball don't lie.

Hot (Time) take

Here's the thing: Calendar don't lie, either. It's 2015, not 2007, and Drogba looked visibly diminished in his Chelsea swansong. The fear is that Drogba's game was honed by a guy (young Drogba) who was consistently bigger, stronger, and faster than his foes; absent the 'stronger and faster' part, how does he fare? On the upside, even at 37 Drogba would bring an impeccable resumé as an absolutely spectacular player in the biggest moments.

The Fire are in desperate need of a guy who can win the ball with his back to goal, and Drogba can surely do that. How the roster works with Drogba on it is an open question, though. It is assumed Chicago would use Targetted Allocation Money to buy down the cap hit of (most likely) David Accam to sub-DP levels, thereby freeing up the slot for Drogba to use. At $900k, though, that leaves Kennedy Igboananike as a hellishly expensive spot starter whenever Drogba's healthy. And the defense ... oh, the defense. There are more moves to come if this deal happens.