In a surprise twist, Manchester United flop Radamel Falcao could be staying in England this summer after all – signing for one of the Red Devils’ rivals Chelsea or Liverpool, according to the Metro.
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The Colombian international may not be too tempted to remain in the Premier League after clearly struggling with the pace of the game over here in a terrible spell at Old Trafford – just four goals in 25 games – but his fine reputation as a world class goalscorer at parent club AS Monaco and previous teams Atletico Madrid and Porto could still see him attract interest.
Foreign clubs may also be in the running to sign the 29-year-old, but perhaps he shouldn’t be too hasty in rejecting an offer from Liverpool if it comes along, with a switch to playing under Brendan Rodgers perhaps just what he needs at this stage of his career.
The Reds boss has worked wonders with players like Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho when their careers looked to be going downhill at Chelsea and Inter Milan respectively, while bad-boy Raheem Sterling has also improved tremendously under his guidance at Anfield. Falcao arguably doesn’t have time on his side and could be past his peak, but there may still be room for a revival if he has another stab at English football.
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Considering a big part of his problem at United has been confidence – both from a lack of regular playing time and from working with a notoriously difficult personality in Louis van Gaal – these issues simply wouldn’t be an issue at Liverpool; the Reds urgently need a striker after selling Luis Suarez last summer and Falcao would no doubt command a place upfront ahead of the likes of Mario Balotelli and Rickie Lambert, whilst also potentially forming a great partnership with Sturridge when he’s fit.
This certainly would not be the case at Chelsea, where his situation would probably be far too similar: he wouldn’t be a regular, just a Loic Remy-like backup figure to play when Diego Costa is injured, while of course Jose Mourinho is another who can get into confrontations with players if they don’t immediately play the way he wants them to.
Falcao has also been starved of the ball in so many games for United this season, with van Gaal adopting a slow, passing approach that doesn’t allow a poacher like him to thrive. Liverpool, meanwhile, are quicker and more direct even if they share a similar philosophy in terms of possession, but it’s easier for a striker to shine in Rodgers’ system. Again, a move to Chelsea probably wouldn’t be ideal for Falcao due to the team’s more defensive approach – the Blues had just 32.9% possession in their win over United last week.
Falcao to Liverpool? There is always speculation and there might be nothing to it, but it’s not as crazy as it sounds.