Falcao failed at Man Utd, so what does Mourinho see in him?
By Lee Kilby
After an unsuccessful season at Manchester United, Radamel Falcao was deemed not worthy of his £43 million price tag and he was sent back to Monaco with four Barclays Premier League goals in 29 appearances.
At 29 and £280,000 per week in wages, it was a sensible choice from Van Gaal not to sign Falcao permanently.
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Falcao was once the most deadly and sought-after striker in Europe. Before he joined United last season it was rumoured Real Madrid were interested in him, but now it is hard to imaging him getting to that level again. Any suggestion his form was down to the tactics used by Louis Van Gaal was rejected at the Copa America, where the Colombia striker was hauled off against Peru and Brazil, before being dropped for Argentina.
Even after his dismal season at Manchester United, Jose Mourinho believed he could get Falcao back to the level he was at Atletico Madrid. What does Jose Mourinho see that no-one else can?
Falcao has just signed a one-year loan deal for Chelsea, but with Diego Costa Chelsea’s number one striker, will Chelsea be paying him to warm the bench for a season?
Diego Costa had a fantastic first season in England as he helped Chelsea claim their first title in five years. None of us know what Jose Mourinho is thinking, will he change his system and play with two strikers? If he did, which midfielder would he drop.
Falcao made four appearances at Copa America, playing 252 minutes. The outcome was zero goals, no assists, six shots in total with one on target (16.67 per cent accuracy), and a single chance created. It justified Louis Van Gaal’s decision to not make his loan at Manchester United permanent.
Signing Falcao could only go one of two ways for Chelsea. It will either turn out to be a brilliant move, and give Jose Mourinho a not-needed ego boost, or the one looking much more likely at this stage – a disaster. Chelsea supporters have faith in their manager, they have always been loyal to Mourinho, but this expensive loan could backfire.
Not all of Jose Mourinho’s decisions at Chelsea have been the right ones. He sold Juan Mata to Manchester United – a fan-favourite at Chelsea – and Mata has thrived under Louis Van Gaal.
In 2012, any club in world football would have taken Falcao. He had 41 goals in 51 appearances for Porto in Portuguese Liga, and was in the process of hitting 52 in 68 for Atletico Madrid in La Liga. However, a lot has changed in three years to make Chelsea the only club in European football willing to give him an opportunity. He suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in January 2014 which forced him to miss the World Cup. Since then he has not been the same deadly striker he once was.
Chelsea are one of the teams who could afford Falcao’s wages, but it seems unnecessary, particularly when the already have Diego Costa and his current back-up, Loic Remy.
Falcao’s situation seems very similar to Fernando Torres a couple of years ago. After he joined Chelsea from Liverpool for £50 million, he didn’t justify his price tag and has never recaptured his form.
If this did come off, it would be a nice story for Mourinho, and Falcao too. Yet Falcao has never been the same since suffering his ACL injury. Can Mourinho get Falcao back to the player who scored a hat-trick against Chelsea at the 2012 UEFA Super Cup final, I doubt it, but you never know.