Chelsea Transfer Rumors: Blues Must Be Smart in Pursuit of Radamel Falcao

If you believe the rumors, Chelsea is going to go to extremely long lengths to land Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao. 

And that might not be the smartest move for the club.

According to John Cross of the Mirror, Chelsea is not only willing to pay a crazy amount to bring Falcao aboard, but might also give up a keeper in the process:

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Chelsea are ready to use Belgian keeper Thibaut Courtois as bait in their £50 million pursuit of Atletico Madrid superstar Radamel Falcao.

Blues owner Roman Abramovich refuses to give up on Colombia international striker Falcao—even though they are likely to have to compete with Real Madrid and both Manchester clubs this summer for his signature.

The soon-to-be-ex-European champions are also in for Napoli’s Edinson Cavani, but Courtois, 20, may just give them an edge in the Falcao chase.

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Look, I understand Chelsea's pursuit of an elite striker. Fernando Torres has underwhelmed during his stay at Stamford Bridge, and while Demba Ba is an excellent second choice for a team gunning to win the Premier League title next season, he is just not a top option.

But Chelsea has a bad habit of targeting one or two expensive players and losing the bigger picture. Petr Cech is still an elite option in goal, but he's 30 years old. Giving up Courtois along with oodles of cash is quite the price to pay.

Plus, this team has other needs. A box-to-box holding midfielder is a definite need. How amazing would Marouane Fellaini look on this squad?

And what about the defense? While I like David Luiz, I think he might ultimately be better suited for the midfield. And with John Terry clearly falling out of favor, a center-back is a position that needs to be addressed. 

The team could also look at full-back, seeing as Ashley Cole isn't getting any younger. And Frank Lampard will likely be gone, so adding another attacking midfielder for depth would make sense.

The point is this—Chelsea shouldn't throw all its eggs into Falcao's basket. This is a team that has undeniable talent but needs reinforcements in several areas, not just one. Falcao is spectacular, no doubt, but does he alone guarantee Chelsea a title next season?

You can point to how Robin van Persie pushed Manchester United over the top, but United only lost last year's title due to goal differential. Right now, Chelsea is battling to remain in the top four. And United gave up half of what Chelsea might need to sacrifice to land Falcao. 

There are other strikers out there that will bring a cutting edge to the attack but likely come cheaper, such as Cavani. Chelsea needs to be smart when it comes to pursuing Falcao—this team is more than one striker away from an EPL title.