Chelsea FC officially announced the signing of Colombian forward Radamel Falcao on a one-year loan from Monaco on Friday, confirming this summer’s worst kept secret.
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The former Porto and Atletico Madrid striker will join the Chelsea squad for preseason training later this month, and seems quite eager to begin his new life in London.
“I am very happy to be joining Chelsea and can’t wait to start training and help with our aim of retaining the league title and being successful in Europe.” He told Chelseafc.com.
Welcome to @ChelseaFC, @FALCAO! #CFC pic.twitter.com/DC007mF6MN
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 3, 2015
Chelsea’s announcement gave little away, only expressing delight at the long awaited capture.
"“Chelsea Football Club is delighted to announce we have agreed terms with Monaco for the season-long loan of Radamel Falcao.”"
The striker spent last season on loan at Manchester United, but fell way short of the standard the football world had gotten used to. Scoring only four goals in 29 appearances, the Colombian turned out to be a major flop under Louis van Gaal.
Chelsea supporters were hoping to see the real ‘El Tigre’ during this year’s Copa America, but the forward’s performances were less than comforting, to say the least.
Jose Mourinho seems to have lots of faith in Falcao. The Portuguese manager believes that he could resurrect the sleeping tiger (if there really is one) in the Colombian, also claiming that the player we all saw at United last season is not the “real Falcao.”
“If I can help Falcao reach his level again, I will do it.” Said Mourinho. “It hurts me that people in England think that the real Falcao is the one we saw at Manchester United.”
Once — and not very long ago — the most fearsome striker on the planet, Falcao’s form has gone AWOL since suffering a nasty knee injury which kept him out of the World Cup last year. Many believe that Manchester United’s style didn’t do him much good, in terms of proper recovery. The time elapsed also offers a glimmer of hope, as full recovery from such injury could take as much as 18 months, making the timing just about right for Chelsea.
If the Blues get just a fraction of the man who scored 70 goals in two seasons at Atletico, this signing could prove to be a steal. As bad as he was last season, it would be hard to imagine him having a worse campaign with Chelsea.
At 29-years-old, Falcao could be considered a huge upgrade from a 37-year-old Didier Drogba, but if things don’t work out, Chelsea still have a beast of a striker in Diego Costa and a dependable scorer in Loic Remy. They should also have Patrick Bamford, Dominic Solanke or Bertrand Traore to call upon if needs be, plus there’s always the January transfer window.
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This is a very low risk transfer for Chelsea. At best, they get a decent back-up scorer who could also renew a great partnership up front with Costa. But at worst, still a better option than Drogba who isn’t on a permanent deal.
Most Chelsea supporters aren’t at all convinced, but the thought of a Costa/Falcao pairing does summon curiosity. Which Falcao will we see next season? The purring kitten of Old Tafford, or the ruthless tiger of Porto and Atletico? Fortunately, we don’t have that long of a wait.