Injury and Age Doubts Don't Matter in Man United's Low-Risk Deal for Falcao

Signing a player, especially for a large fee, is always a risk.

There are no guarantees. His record at AC Milan suggested Andriy Shevchenko would score goals at Chelsea. But he didn't.

Fernando Torres scored 81 times in 142 games for Liverpool. But after a £50 million move to Chelsea, he could only manage 45 in 172 appearances. More than £1 million a goal, before wages and bonuses, isn't what you would call value for money.

Diego Forlan struggled at Manchester United but found the net regularly for Villarreal and then Atletico Madrid. 

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Sir Alex Ferguson spent £28.1 million on Juan Sebastian Veron, one of the finest attacking midfielders in the world, in 2001. Two years later he was packed off to Chelsea for a cut-price £15 million.

Paying millions of pounds for a player is high risk. But there is the potential for high rewards as well. That's why clubs do it.

Footballers, at any level, are worth what someone is willing to pay. Angel Di Maria is, evidently, worth £59.7 million to United and Louis van Gaal. Daley Blind, by the same reasoning, is worth £13.8 million. 

There is very rarely a deal to be had. Ed Woodward, though, might feel he's got one with Radamel Falcao.

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The Colombian striker was signed on deadline day in an initial season-long loan deal from Monaco. 

He'll earn a lot of money at Old Trafford. But United's outlay is only a fraction of what it might have been had they tried to sign Falcao out right. 

They have the option to make the deal permanent next summer. But there's no harm in a bit of try before you buy.

When Falcao signed, old stories about his age resurfaced, accusations that he's actually two years older than the 28 he says he is. United rejected the claims this week.

The worries about Falcao's fitness might be harder to shift. That is, until he plays a string of games and proves he's over the knee ligament injury that kept him out of the World Cup.

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But the niggling doubts don't matter as much as they would usually because the agreement, certainly on United's part, is low in risk.

Falcao, for whatever reason, might not be a success at Old Trafford. The goals might dry up. His knee might not hold up. He might turn out to be 30 after all, or a scarecrow held together with nothing but straw and bits of string (disclaimer: He's probably not).

But it doesn't matter. The worst-case scenario for United is that Falcao goes back to Monaco at the end of the season. It's not a luxury Chelsea had with Shevchenko or Torres.

There's nothing to suggest Falcao won't score goals in the Premier League. He's managed to do it everywhere else he's been. But you never know. 

And if it does fall apart, United, Van Gaal and Woodward can console themselves with the fact that the damage won't be quite as great as it could have been.