It looks to be a certainty that Chelsea will sign Radamel Falcao in a season long loan deal from AS Monaco this summer.

Blues boss Jose Mourinho has already came out in the press and strongly hinted that he wants the Colombian hitman at Stamford Bridge:

“If I can help Falcao reach his level again, I will do it. It hurts me that people in England think that the real Falcao is the one we saw at Manchester United.”

Now I just can’t see why Jose wants to bring the striker to London.

Obviously if it were 2013 then I could understand. Falcao’s hot goalscoring form for Atletico Madrid was legendary and had hipsters frothing at the mouth!

But since then the twenty-nine year old’s career has been in a steady decline.

He never looked enthused by his €60m move to Ligue 1 cracks Monaco. Although he still managed a decent amount of goals from the French giants for half a season, his goals didn’t cover his all round stuttering performances. In truth he flattered to deceive on the French Riviera.

Radamel then suffered a horrific anterior cruciate ligament injury, which required surgery and meant he had to miss the 2014 World Cup. It was a devastating blow for the striker and he hasn’t been the same, mentally or physically, since he returned to full training last summer.

Evidence of that was his failed year at Old Trafford last term. Manchester United took an expensive gamble when they signed Falcao on a £16m loan and it never paid off, with the Colombian only scoring four Premier League goals. United boss Louis van Gaal was never convinced by Falcao’s form or fitness and we would never see the once prolific frontman get a proper run of games or goals in England.

Much of the time, Falcao cut a lost figure on the field while at Man Utd. His runs weren’t smart or effective, he struggled to keep hold of the ball and struggled to adapt to the English game/style.

That’s why I am so confused by Jose’s interest.

Now I understand the ‘Special One’ has a huge ego. He would be cock-a-hoop if he can revive Radamel Falcao’s career at Chelsea. But Mourinho couldn’t turnaround Fernando Torres slump at ‘The Bridge’ and there isn’t anything to suggest he can do it with the former Porto forward.

When the Portuguese boss talks about seeing the best from Falcao and getting him to optimum fitness and form, I actually get reminded of Sam Allardyce boasting that he would do the same with Michael Owen at Newcastle Utd. Now it’s not often you can compare those two gaffers but on this occasion I get the feeling history might repeat itself.

I also remember Mourinho talking up Chelsea’s academy last season and stating that he would use more of his youngsters for the up and coming year. So with that in mind would he not be better keeping Patrick Bamford with the first team for a season and using him, rather than bringing in Falcao to replace the recently departed Didier Drogba?

Chelsea already have Diego Costa as a number one striker and Loic Remy as an able replacement when needed. So will the player dubbed ‘El Tigre’ really get enough game time to regain his fitness and form? I doubt it.

For Falcao to work at his best, then he needs the team to play through him and be the number one guy. That won’t happen at Chelsea.

Now going against a great manager like Jose Mourinho is usually folly for any football fan or writer. If anyone has the magic to get the best out of Radamel Falcao then maybe just maybe that can be the ‘Special One’.

But I really can’t help but think that this is a vanity project that will just see the Colombian miss out on another year of regular first team football, with Falcao once again struggling to make an impact from the bench!

Posted on June 15th, 2015 by scott
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