Robin Van Persie Injury Offers Radamel Falcao Chance of Securing Deal at Man Utd
If Radamel Falcao is hoping to secure a permanent deal at Manchester United, the last two weeks will not have made him feel particularly confident.
With United a goal down against Preston in the fifth round of the FA Cup, manager Louis van Gaal replaced him with Ashley Young. Then, with United 2-1 down at Swansea a week later, Van Gaal left the Colombian on the bench.
Twice, when United were in need of a goal, Van Gaal looked elsewhere. It's not a ringing endorsement for a striker who will cost more than £40 million to sign permanently in the summer.
But Falcao's United career isn't over just yet. Van Gaal told reporters that the ankle injury Robin van Persie picked up at the Liberty Stadium is set to rule him out for an extended period.
"He has an ankle problem so I don’t think it is heavy, but an ankle problem takes a long time," he said. "It’s not one or two weeks, but we will have to wait and see."
This season, Van Persie has looked a shadow of the player he was two years ago. However, it's still a blow for United to lose their top scorer at a time when a place in the top four looks far from certain.
They currently sit fourth in the table.
With that said, the injury does represent another chance for Falcao. He's been disappointing since his loan move from Monaco in the summer. He was the signing the fans were most excited about, but they were expecting a better return than four goals in 16 appearances. So, you imagine, was Van Gaal.
But Van Persie's absence doesn't just offer Falcao a route back into the team. It might also help bring the best out of him. Falcao has started 14 times this season, but 10 of those starts have been with Van Persie.
While both strikers are finishers, neither is blessed with fantastic pace. When they've played together, United's attacking play has looked slow and ponderous.
Alongside Angel Di Maria, Wayne Rooney, Adnan Januzaj and Antonio Valencia, however, Falcao wouldn't need to run into the channels to stretch the game. His responsibilities would be to hold up the ball and score goals—exactly what he's best at.
Falcao still has time to salvage his United career. There are three months of the season to go, and if he were to score the goals to get United into the UEFA Champions League, Van Gaal would have little choice but to offer him a permanent deal.
Van Persie's injury has given him unexpected reprieve. Not only that, it could give him the opportunity he's been waiting for—to play in a system that suits him.
But with his current deal set to expire at the end of the season, he's running out of time. He's not going to get many more chances, either.
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