There have been a few rumours doing the rounds about Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola returning to home to Stamford Bridge to take up a coaching role, which would be great for players, staff and fans alike, but the Blues also need to find the ‘next Zola’ to get them firing on the pitch, according to the Evening Standard.

Over the past few seasons Chelsea have lacked a player like a Zola, who can provide some spark and creative individual flair, some say we have lacked this sort of player since Arjen Robben departed for Real Madrid.

So, who is in the running to be the Blues’ exciting playmaker to wow the Stamford Bridge faithful?

The Evening Standard has mooted Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan), Luka Modric (Tottenham) and Christian Eriksen (Ajax).

But 26-year-old Sneijder is also a target of Manchester United and it’s thought he’d prefer a move to Old Trafford should he leave Inter and I doubt Tottenham would want to sell one of their prized assets to London rival. As for Eriksen, he’s a player that has slipped Chelsea’s net once before and his father has openly criticised the Blues’ youth policy, so some may argue that one is a non-starter.

Alexis Sanchez (Udinese) and Eden Hazard (Lille) were also mentioned as targets, and I believe they are a lot more realistic than those above.

Kaka’s mother has claimed on her Twitter account that they will be moving to London in August, especially as the signing of Nuri Sahin at Real Madrid could push the Brazilian out of the Santiago Bernabeu and it’s believed that Chelsea is his most likely destination.

I think either Alan Dzagoev of CSKA Moscow or Miralem Pjanic could be a decent shout, and at 20 and 21 respectively, they have a lot of years in them and could prove to be a worthwhile investment in the long-term.

Who could be Chelsea’s ‘next Zola’?

Check out the ‘Top 10 Euro Starlets putting Premier League clubs on transfer alert’