Chelsea Transfer Rumours: Radamel Falcao Would Fire Blues to the Title

Chelsea's recent 4-3 Premier League win over Sunderland highlighted exactly why the Blues need to bring in someone of Radamel Falcao's quality.

The Colombian forward, who is currently plying his trade at the mega-riches of Monaco, has once again been linked with a transfer to the West London club, reported by Nick Lustig of the Daily Star.

Although Falcao's name rarely exits the headlines—he is seemingly always linked with a move, despite only switching clubs in the summer—Mourinho would do well to entertain the 27-year-old's goalscoring talents a little more seriously.

The Missing Link

Mourinho recently told supporters that Chelsea will not sign a new striker in January, per Sam Lee of Goal.com.

Although the talents of Fernando Torres, Demba Ba and Samuel Eto'o are capable of propping the club up, the trio's poor return is not enough to have the former champions standing high in what is arguably the most competitive Premier League season ever—highlighted by the Stadium of Light result.

Name	Premier League Apps.	Goals	Games per Goal	Season Estimate (at current rate)
Fernando Torres	10	1	10	3
Demba Ba	6	1	6	6
Samuel Eto'o	8	2	4	8
Radamel Falcao	14	9	1.55	25

Jack Colback was the only starting outfield player to have less touches than Torres, who only made contact with the ball on 32 occasions, per WhoScored.com. Chelsea's midfield quintet—made up of Ramires, Frank Lampard, Willian, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard—averaged 79.8 touches each, with Hazard almost tripling Torres' total on 85.

While they should be expected to influence the game more readily than any lone striker, there's a disproportionate placing of responsibility here that should push Mourinho toward spending big.

Whether it's the system, lack of confidence or just poor luck, Chelsea's attacking trident currently has a cushion around the middle prong.

With a combined total of four Premier League goals across 24 appearances between the club's three strikers, it's apparent there is someone formidable missing from Chelsea's attack, someone who has proven he can regularly win matches on the club's quest to the Premier League title.

That man is Falcao.

What exactly can Falcao pull off and how would it alter the 4-2-3-1 system Mourinho loves to employ? Firstly, the former Atletico Madrid's finishing prowess needs no introduction.

His 28 goals in last year's La Liga campaign, 24 the year before, highlight a consistency Stamford Bridge hasn't witnessed since the days of Didier Drogba.

With nine in 14 Ligue 1 appearances for Monaco this year, the well-rounded forward continues to underline the theory that, if you give him a chance, he will gobble it up.

Most importantly, Falcao's style of play would naturally take the pressure off players such as Hazard, who had to produce arguably his best performance in a Chelsea shirt to help the side overcome Gus Poyet's Black Cats.

His two goals and assist, although superb, bailed Mourinho's men out of a difficult situation—less than ideal circumstances when your striker is barely in the game.

Falcao isn't the type of forward to continually hold the ball up, although he possesses the strength to batter opponents away if they invade his personal space. Instead, his game is defined by finding clever positions, intelligent bursts of movement and following his predatory instincts.

Whereas Torres, Ba and Eto'o are prone to over-thinking situations, perhaps with a momentum-sapping touch, Falcao is likely to instantly blast or advance play with a quick moment of class. He is dominant in the air, able to score with both feet and looks to supply the flanks before making his way to the box.

Falcao's concentration and reading of the game produces many of the conditions to thrive. He is a perennial thinker who constantly scans the positioning of his colleagues and opponents to, quite often literally, remain one step ahead of play.

Chelsea need this brand of forward to take responsibility. Mourinho will undoubtedly be surprised by his trio's lack of goalscoring output—few would have seen it coming to this extent—but that doesn't mean he needs to prolong a situation that could be solved via one hefty cheque.

Currently four points behind Arsenal and aiming to compete across all fronts, the signing of such a player would go a long way to deciding which colour the Premier League title's ribbons are destined to be this year.

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