Is Jose Mourinho Taking a Big Risk with 3 Injury-Prone Strikers at Chelsea?
It's been widely reported that Radamel Falcao is close to becoming a Chelsea player.
Among the many outlets reporting a loan deal will be signed soon with the Colombian is BBC Sport, explaining how Chelsea are in pole position for his signature after Manchester United turned down the opportunity to sign Falcao permanently for £43.2 million.
If the deal goes through, where does it leave Chelsea? Will Jose Mourinho's squad be stronger than last season? Will Chelsea be a more threatening proposition in attack?
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One thing for certain is that Falcao and Diego Costa will be reunited.
Three years ago, the pair were among Europe's most dangerous attacking partnerships. They were a treat to watch, linking up to rip defences apart across the continent.
Atletico did just that to Chelsea in the Super Cup, too, when Falcao scored a mesmerising hat-trick to crush the the reigning European champions 4-1.
Costa didn't make it off the bench that night, but as Chelsea fans consider the benefits of having Falcao at their club, moments such as that will whet the appetite.
In his prime, there was arguably no better No. 9 in world football.
This isn't 2012, though. We're three years down the line, and Falcao is a totally different prospect, as Chelsea and the rest of the Premier League found out firsthand last season.
It wasn't through a lack of talent that Falcao flopped at Manchester United last season but more a case of his body ruling the mind.
The knee injury he suffered 18 months ago continues to haunt him. It kept Falcao out of the 2014 World Cup, and now it's keeping him from the clutches of Europe's elite.
There was a time when a move for Falcao would have triggered activity across Europe. It would have been the domino effect; as one club moved, so too would the others in an attempt to lure him.
Not anymore. Such is the risk surrounding his fitness and form, the Colombian has become a loan star—a player on whom the buying clubs refuse to wage any considerable risk.
Only the risk at Chelsea isn't a financial one where Falcao is concerned. It goes much deeper than that.
Should Mourinho bring Falcao to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's forward ranks will resemble something from an A&E ward on a Saturday night.
Chelsea had to close out the Premier League with a 37-year-old striker in Didier Drogba last season because Costa and Loic Remy couldn't keep fit. For Costa, it was his hamstrings that caused problems all season, while everything from groin strains to calf injuries curtailed Remy's campaign.
Now Mourinho is adding Falcao into the mix—a player who spent just as much as time on the treatment table.
Far from being a deadly trio, Chelsea's strikers are more likely to resemble the Three Stooges with Falcao in situ.
Such are the demands in modern football, when managers build their teams, it's a process done with much more than domestic competition in mind.
Chelsea want to win the Champions League, and to do that, they must overcome Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus, not to mention the other hopefuls such as Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.
As Chelsea can testify, there's an element of luck involved for any team that lifts the European Cup, but to make the most of good fortune, there's a dependency on firepower and defensive strength.
Mourinho's Chelsea have the latter, and the task this summer is to add more firepower to the equation. After all, that's why they didn't extend Drogba's one-year contract, isn't it?
Despite winning the Premier League last season, Chelsea still lacked that strength in the final third that their rivals can boast.
Only Costa and Eden Hazard found themselves in double figures for the campaign, while the big teams across Europe had a frightening arsenal at their disposal.
Falcao isn't going to be the answer to Chelsea catching those teams up. He showed very little for United, and given his Copa America hasn't gone much better, it's too much to expect him to strengthen this Chelsea team in the way it needs to be.
At 29, it seems that time has passed for him.
The stats from across Europe show the gulf in class when it comes to Chelsea's goalscorers and the rest. Just comparing Barcelona and Real Madrid to Chelsea's potential goalscorers next season outlines the difference.
| Barcelona | Real Madrid | Chelsea |
| Luis Suarez: 26 (46) | Cristiano Ronaldo: 61 (52) | Diego Costa: 20 (37) |
| Lionel Messi: 60 (60) | Bareth Bale: 17 (46) | Loic Remy: 9 (27) |
| Neymar: (43 (50) | Karim Benzema: 21 (42) | Radamel Falcao: 4 (29) |
| Total: 129 (156) | Total: 99 (140) | Total: 33 (93) |
If we combine Falcao's records for the past two seasons (11 in 2013/14, four last year), it still doesn't make Chelsea look a bigger threat.
It's difficult to imagine Chelsea winning the Champions League with three strikers whose injury records stand out as much as their goals.
Costa is the jewel in the crown, but Mourinho needs more to support him. Hazard is part of the answer, given his contribution, yet there needs to be more.
The mistake Manchester City have made after each of their Premier League victories has been the failure to strengthen significantly.
Their transfer policy hasn't been good enough, with the wrong players signed at the wrong times. Just when it seemed Chelsea are edging ahead in the right direction, Mourinho looks like he's making the same mistake.
What impressed so much about the Chelsea boss this time last year was how he swiftly he acted in the transfer market.
Before Germany's name was on the World Cup, the Premier League engravers may as well have been etching Chelsea's name on to their trophy, such was the business Mourinho did.
Mourinho signed Costa and Cesc Fabregas to strengthen in those key areas that won Chelsea the title.
Now it's about the next step, Mourinho is going for Falcao. The signs aren't looking good.
Chelsea had headaches with injured strikers for much of 2014/15, and Falcao isn't going to help remedy that.
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
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