After a lackluster season spent at Manchester United, Radamel Falcao is heading back to England on a season long loan with Chelsea. Rumors had been floating around for a while that Jose Mourinho was looking to land the Colombian international, and news came out this morning that Mourinho got his man. Mourinho has reportedly been very fond of Falcao since the striker impressed him at Atletico Madrid & Porto.
It’s no secret that Falcao has not quite been himself after suffering a devastating knee injury in January of 2014, that kept him from the World Cup last summer. It was thought that his loan deal to Manchester United last season would help him bounce back, but he only managed to score 4 goals for the Old Trafford side, and was even designated to playing for the U-21 team.
Welcome to @ChelseaFC, @FALCAO! #CFC pic.twitter.com/DC007mF6MN
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 3, 2015
So, after such a disappointing season for Falcao, what could he possibly bring to the Premier League Champions? Well, for one thing, Chelsea provides him the “all bets are off” type of environment. Chelsea already have a prolific goal scorer in Diego Costa, so the expectations for Falcao will be curbed a bit. Reuniting with former Atletico Madrid teammates like Costa, Thibaut Courtois, and Filipe Luis may provide him the familiar situation that will help him return to his former self. Chelsea also has Juan Cuadrado, who is a Colombian National Team teammate for Falcao.
Another reason that may make this a successful signing is the number of competitions that Chelsea are in. Between the FA Cup, Premier League season, Capital One Cup, and ultimately the UEFA Champions League, there should be plenty of opportunity for Falcao to see meaningful minutes, which was a challenge for him at Manchester United. With plenty of talent surrounding him at Stamford Bridge, it’ll be up to him to see if he can capitalize on those minutes.
After all, this has the potential to be a low risk, high reward signing for Chelsea, even if it is just for one season. They proved last season that they can win with the talent that they already have, so this is a luxury signing — much like the January signing of Cuadrado. Can Falcao return to his prolific goal scoring, or has his injury redefined his career? We’ll have to wait and see how this season plays out to find the answer.
