As widely expected, Chelsea have confirmed the loan signing of Radamel Falcao, who endured a torrid time at Manchester United last term.
The Colombian international is regarded as one of the most prolific goalscorers in world football in the current era, but his time at Old Trafford last season was a huge disappointed. He joined the Reds before the summer window slammed shut in a temporary spell for the duration of the 2014/15 campaign, but he struggled badly to find anything like his best form and scored just four goals.
This resulted in Louis van Gaal deciding against signing him permanently from Monaco, who were demanding around £42million for his signature. Yet it was never likely that Falcao would remain in France, and with Jose Mourinho singing his praises despite his poor form in England, Chelsea shot to the top of the list of clubs likely to acquire his signature ahead of the new campaign.
And the Blues have now confirmed that the 29-year-old striker will indeed spend the coming season at Stamford Bridge. The player, who will link up with former Atletico Madrid pals Diego Costa, Thibaut Courtois and Filipe Luis, said: “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.”
Falcao first arrived in Europe when he joined Porto from River Plate in the summer of 2009, and he scored 72 goals in 87 appearances for the Portuguese side. This earned him a move to Atletico where he was again hugely prolific in front of goal, netting 70 times in 91 outings. He scored 13 goals in 22 appearances for Monaco, where a bad knee injury curtailed his progress.
