Radamel Falcao Needs to Start Delivering for Manchester United Now

Whenever Radamel Falcao would don a yellow bib and warm up on the sidelines against Hull City at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon a spontaneous ripple of applause would break out across all four sides of the stadium.

Three months after his arrival there still remains a sense of surprise and excitement among the club’s fans he is actually a United player.

They are desperate to see Falcao succeed in English football, but he has had to endure a frustrating start, with injuries limiting his appearances so far.

The Colombian striker has not yet completed a full 90 minutes for United, and he has only started three of a possible 10 games this season.

So far he has scored just the one goal for United; the crucial winner against Everton in United’s 2-1 win at the start of October.

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That initial excitement is beginning to give way to a creeping anxiety among United fans about whether they will ever see the real Falcao.

These fears were only heightened when the United manager Louis van Gaal recently admitted Falcao’s injury problems were one of the reasons United had only taken him on loan from Monaco and not bought him outright last summer.

When Falcao did finally come on against Hull City on Saturday, his 20-minute cameo was his first appearance for United in five weeks.

He looked bright and willing, and he should really have scored United’s fourth of the game by finishing a move he had started with a smart turn inside the Hull half.

A deal with Monaco has already been agreed to turn Falcao's loan spell in to a permanent transfer, but at the moment United could not possibly sanction it. 

It is naturally difficult to judge a player’s real worth until they are fully fit, and so starting from Tuesday night, with Stoke’s visit to Old Trafford, Falcao should finally begin to get a run of games to prove his undoubted quality.

The next six months and 25 Premier League games will decide if he has a future at Manchester United.

If he maintains his fitness, it is hard to see him not staying at Old Trafford.  

After all, this is a player who 18 months ago was hailed as the best striker in the world, and who has been a prolific goalscorer at every club he’s played for, amassing 200 goals in 305 appearances for River Plate, Porto, Atletico Madrid and Monaco.

The next six months will reveal if United’s big signing for next summer is conveniently already at the club, or whether they need to start looking for a new striker.