In recent years, Chelsea haven’t had the best of luck with big name strikers. Those costly Fernando Torres and Andriy Shevchenko episodes were meant to have warned them off forwards whose brilliance, once so blinding, had been dulled by injuries and brittle confidence. Following the conformation of Radamel Falcao’s move to Stamford Bridge on a season-long loan, Jose Mourinho is tasked with another project on his hands, revitalising Radamel Falcao’s career.
The striker’s arrival at Old Trafford last season had been hailed a coup. Sure, he had sustained that tear to the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in a French Cup tie against Monts d’or Azergues the previous January, cutting short his first campaign at Monaco after nine goals in 17 appearances, but his recovery had apparently been rapid. The Colombian international scored twice in three Ligue 1 games at the start of last term before United took on his £265,000-a-week salary, paid a £6m loan fee and were given the option to make the deal permanent for £43.2m a year on.
A fee that at the time sounded just right for a striker who had rampaged across Europe with Porto and Atlético Madrid – including a tremendous hat-trick against Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup for Atletico Madrid back in 2012. All the hype and expectation over Falcao’s move to United was pictured with a return of form for the Colombian, especially in many of Manchester United fan’s eyes.
Four goals in 29 games, a solitary shot on target in his last 12 Premier League appearances, and 71 minutes struggling to make any impact whatsoever with the club’s under-21s development side against Tottenham Hotspur in March tell their own story. Falcao was finding his time at Manchester United extremely difficult. On the 24th of May, Manchester United confirmed that they will not be purchasing Radamel Falcao permanently from AS Monaco. The star who had envisaged becoming a legend at United ended up diminished.
Yet this is the 29-year-old who Chelsea, possibly after a few hours of persuasion from manager Jose Mourinho to the board given that the board are more comfortable purchasing young potential, rather than taking a gamble on a 29-year-old striker that struggled to score five goals the previous season, decided to take the risk. The influence of Jorge Mendes, who represents both Falcao and Mourinho, should probably be acknowledged. There is a perception among other agents that Mendes alone could have smoothed this deal, which could be considered grudging recognition of the power he wields within the game, or frustration that the champions are taking on Falcao rather than one of the alternatives they are promoting.
Mourinho will certainly not want to lose face on the deal. He will want his controversial decision to pay off and prove correct many doubters. The manager who claimed the league for Chelsea last term will see a player still capable of covering huge distances over 90 minutes even last season, a striker whose quickest darts were more rapid than those of Robin van Persie, and whose eagerness to work in all areas of the pitch would fit into the more selfless demands of Chelsea’s approach, which the striker struggled to whistle at Old Trafford last season.
The key to restoring Falcao will be Mourinho’s ability to heal the psychological wounds caused by the injury, the devastating knee injury that resulted in the absence from the World Cup and his failure to thrive with United.
At Chelsea, a side whose evolution is more advanced and who better resemble the Atlético setup in which he had previously shone, he may be able to ease himself back in more gradually with Diego Costa still the attacking focal point of the side.
Overall, Jose Mourinho’s decision to bring Radamel Falcao to Stamford Bridge is – despite being a very big gamble- a good signing. With Diego Costa leading the front line at the Bridge, the striker is in need of competition, and a big name striker in Falcao certainly brings that. Reported wages of around £130,00-150,000 a week is certainly a lot of money for a player that will spend most of his time on the bench, however, Jose clearly feels there is some class still in Falcao after taking the gamble in bringing him to the Bridge and to try and get his career back on track. So, if Falcao settles in London and adapts to Mourinho’s style of play, we could well see something special from the Colombian, but that’s a big if indeed.
