Something that’s been whispered for a good few months now is that Atlético Madrid star striker Radamel Falcao might well be leaving the La Liga outfit this summer for pastures new. The Colombian, who has a buyout clause of around £47m in his contract, is reportedly being looked at by scouts at Man City and Chelsea, and a summer move looks to be shaping up with real conviction.
Both clubs are of course no strangers to big-name and big-money imports from European clubs, with each of their record signings being strikers who made their goal-scoring name at none other than Atlético — Sergio Agüero and Fernando Torres, respectively.
All talk this season has of course been focused on Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo, the undisputed best players in the world right now, but not far behind in third place is Falcao. The 27-year-old, who began his career with Argentine club River Plate, has helped his team to a strong third position in the La Liga table, scoring 22 goals in 27 games including five in a match against Deportivo de La Coruña back in December. He has suffered a slight dip in form this year, but still remains the key man in Atlético’s quest for a Champions League place.
But should the Premier League big boys be looking to pay out for Falcao? Taking the examples above, one would be forgiven for being on the fence about the issue — Agüero, on the one hand, has consistently been an important part of a successful Man City side, including scoring that goal to secure last year’s league title with pretty much the last kick of the season; Torres, on the other hand, has consistently been a laughing stock, missing simple chances and appearing deflated and a shell of the player he once was in the blue shirt.
With Agüero, Džeko and Tévez in the wings scoring freely, it’s easy to think that the soon-to-be outgoing Premier League champions don’t need Falcao, although their performances this season leave more to the imagination than might have been hoped. Chelsea, in much the same way, have lacked a star player up front for most of the season, with most of their goals coming from a strong midfield force (although, to be fair, Torres has scored 20 in all competitions!).
I recently came across a story claiming that Manchester United were joining the hunt for his signature, and while Sir Alex has disregarded this as nonsense it seems this might well be the best place for him — a strike force of Van Persie, Falcao and Rooney is nothing to be taken lightly, and the red side of Manchester is always going to be the most likely to win trophies with its established youth system, historically successful business roots, and consistently strong management. It seems improbable that Arsenal, Liverpool or Spurs might be able to tempt him with the lack of silverware on offer for such a high-profile star, but it’s possible that those behind the scenes might also join the hunt for the Colombian goalscorer.
It’s likely that Chelsea or Man City (or United, if Fergie’s playing mind games) will swoop for Falcao come summer 2013, and it’s likely too that he will make a move to the English league. What we should all hope is that he comes along and makes an immediate impact, adjusting to life in the Premier League with confidence and ease, scoring goals at a La Liga level and making the title race that bit more interesting.
With his record, any club would be mad not to take the risk, with the money involved being peanuts in the grand scheme of things, and I for one am excited about the prospect of seeing him on Match of the Day week in week out.
Source: Daily Mail
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