A number of changes have been made to the database to make this save as realistic as possible. Promoted and relegated sides have been changed where applicable. Bournemouth, Watford and Norwich all replace Hull, QPR and Burnley in the Premier League. Radamel Falcao has joined the Premier League champions, alongside Brazilian midfielder, Nathan. Didier Drogba has also left the club. I will be taking Falcao through three seasons at Chelsea to see how he manages under Jose Mourinho.
Transfers
The Colombian was not the only arrival at Stamford Bridge this summer, he and Nathan were joined by, Italian midfielder Marco Verratti. Young Spanish left back, Jose Gaya joined from Valencia, as well as strong Brazilian central defender, Dede.
First Season Review
Falcao couldn’t help Chelsea retain their Premier League title, despite their additions the Blues were beaten to the trophy by Brendan Rogers’ side and finished 2nd. Falcao did aid the club’s bid to win the Champions League, however were beaten 3-1 in the final by Atletico Madrid.
Falcao endured a tough first season at Stamford Bridge, playing back up to Diego Costa. Along the way, Falcao was hindered by injuries which kept him out of the first team. The Colombian made a total of 19 league appearances, scoring 7 goals in the process. Both Loic Remy and Diego Costa contributed 13 goals each.
On a personal note, Falcao was named the Premier League player of the month during August. The striker averaged a rating of 7.16 throughout the season. However injuries seemingly halted what was a promising start to life at Stamford Bridge. Between the months of November to April Falcao suffered, bruised ribs, a torn hamstring and fractured ribs. Could this be a sign of things to come?
Second Season Transfers
In the 2016-17 season, Chelsea signed Adnan Januzaj for a fee of £23m. The young Belgian will link up his international team-mate, Eden Hazard in attempts to add some creativity to the ranks at Chelsea. As well the young French defender, Aymeric Laporte.
End of Second Season Review
Cardiff, Huddersfield and Reading all made the jump up to the Premier League to replace the relegated Norwich, Swansea and Aston Villa. Falcao enjoyed a much more fluent campaign in his second season at Stamford Bridge.
On a whole, Chelsea had a disappointing campaign which saw them drop down to 5th in the Premier League. Missing out on the Champions League place by 9 points.
The striker made a total of 26 appearances and also made an improvement on his goal tally, netting 10 times. The improvement upon last season was largely a result of the lack of injuries. Falcao only suffered a twisted ankle in October, his only injury throughout the whole season. The good form showed, his average rating shot up to 7.24.
Falcao was once again outscored by Diego Costa who netted 15 times. However he edged in front of Loic Remy who failed to score a single league goal in what was a season to forget for the Frenchman.
Season Three Transfers
Chelsea splashed the cash over the summer as they looked to improve on their dismal 5th place finish last time out. Jose Okore joined from Aston Villa, Jordy Clasie joined after impressing in Italy as well Kevin Volland who joins with lots of promise.
Queens Park Rangers, Blackburn and Nottingham Forest were promoted to the top flight. It was yet another disappointing season for Chelsea who failed to improve upon their 5th place finish. The Blues would yet again find themselves in the Europa League next season. Chelsea fans did however have something to smile about, they lifted the FA Cup after beating Manchester City 2-1.
Falcao is now finding consistency within this Chelsea team. The Colombian striker made a total of 25 appearances and scored 8 goals for the Blues in the 2017-18 season, as well as averaging an impressive 7.13 rating.
Conclusion
Judging on his performance in Football Manager, Radamel Falcao looks like a great back up option for Diego Costa. Scoring 25 goals in 75 appearances for the club is a good record for a backup striker. Throughout his 3 seasons he conjured up a very pleasing 7.18 average rating. What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below.
