With Chelsea’s title challenge hitting the buffers at the moment it appears that Jose Mourinho is keen to get the club back onto the title track. Reports in today’s press link the club with a renewed attempt to recruit Colombian striker Radamel Falcao, currently plying his trade for Ligue One outfiit Monaco.
There were strong and consistent rumours during the summer that Chelsea were keen to land the player from Atletico Madrid, but apparently some of the senior power-brokers at the club seemed to have misgivings as to whether the player had the technical ability, outside of the box, to withstand the rigours of the Premier League. It’s difficult to discern the truth in these matters, but his record for goal-scoring is pretty robust.
In La Liga, hardly comparable to a Sunday League kick-about, he notched over a half century of goals in just 62 games, and this followed on from his time with Porto, when he scored 41, in 51 games. For Monaco already, he has scored nine times in 11 games. If you’re looking for a goal-scorer, and surely Chelsea are, it’s a pretty convincing CV.
As Chelsea dithered in the summer however, cash-rich Monaco, complete with tax-haven status, moved in and tied up a deal for the Colombian. There are a few rumours leaking out of the principality however that with Monaco’s title challenge faltering as they begin to fall behind PSG, that a recouping of the big fee, and the enormous wages – variously reported to be around 300,000 to 350,000 euros per week – are now being looked on as excessive for non-title challenging team.
The fee may not be a problem for Chelsea. Roman Abramovich has never shied away from the big signing if he is impressed by the player, but the wages could be an issue. Take the big numbers, and then add in Monaco’s liberal tax situation and you wonder if Chelsea would be content to break their wages structure to accommodate the player. The ructions from other top-ranking players should Falcao arrive and top their salaries could also be a factor. At the end of the day however, it’s clear that Chelsea are light of a top-line striker, and Falcao fits the bill. On top of that, there is the added bonus that he would be eligible for the club’s Champions’ League campaign, being free of any European competition with Monaco this season.
The Daily Mirror is reporting that Mourinho is due to fly out to watch Falcao play for Colombia in a friendly international against Belgium, in order to assess his performance against a robust Belgian team, many of who are Premier League regulars. Blues fans will be hoping that the story is built on foundations a little stronger than that however, as the Red Devils’ squad will contain a number of players already on Chelsea’s books and he could just be watching their performances.
Source: DSG
