Falcao eyes glory with Chelsea

04 July 2015 05:31

Radamel Falcao is targeting his first silverware in England having joined reigning Premier League champions Chelsea on a season-long loan.

The 29-year-old flattered to deceive during a similar deal at Manchester United last year, with the Monaco striker only able to hit four goals in 26 outings for Louis van Gaal's side.

Falcao, who failed to score for Colombia in the Copa America before their penalty shootout defeat to Argentina in the quarter-finals, has long had the backing of Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho and has set his sights on trophies at Stamford Bridge.

'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," he told Chelsea's official website.

Having missed the 2014 World Cup with a serious knee injury, Falcao's career appeared to be back on the rise as he joined United as part of Van Gaal's revolution.

But he only managed goals against Everton, Aston Villa, Stoke and Leicester as United finished fourth and the Red Devils opted against turning his move into a permanent transfer.

Whilst Van Gaal was getting United back into the top four, Chelsea were winning the league and Capital One Cup double with their own new forward Diego Costa helping himself to 20 Premier League goals.

Now he will be teamed with Falcao - after the pair played together for Atletico Madrid - in what is a potentially potent strike-force at Stamford Bridge.

Having first played in Europe for Porto, Falcao made his Champions League debut against Chelsea and also hit a hat-trick against the Blues in the European Super Cup during a goal-laden spell at Atletico.

He then made his way on to Monaco but his big-money move was less successful as he suffered a serious knee injury in 2014 and missed half the Ligue 1 season and the World Cup.

Having already played with fellow Chelsea players Costa, Thibaut Courtois and Felipe Luis at Atletico and Juan Cuadrado at international level, Falcao will already have a host of familiar faces in the Chelsea dressing room and, with a manager determined to get the best out of him, the forward will be hoping to show he can cut it in the Premier League.

He is now expected to link up with his new team-mates on a pre-season tour of the United States, with his return to Old Trafford pencilled in for December 28.

Source: PA