According to recent reports, Chelsea and forward Radamel Falcao are considering cutting ties during the January transfer window. The news indicates that the Colombian is frustrated with his lack of inclusion in the team, with a few big name players across Europe commenting that Falcao needs a more steady flow of games.
However, Jose Mourinho and Chelsea should argue that whenever the Colombian has been involved, he has failed to contribute anything worthwhile to the team. Mourinho told BBC:
The best one plays, he has to give us more than Diego because we normally play with one striker.
Even during Costa’s suspension, where Falcao could have easily stepped up and proved his worth, he failed to contribute anything of value. He is a hard worker, and the desire to be effective is there. But the quality just isn’t. His one goal for the Blues served as a reminder of what he once was, a prolific scorer.
However, unless a continued run of games could bring out the Falcao-of-old, it seems the Colombian has run out of chances to prove his worth. Furthermore, in a team like Chelsea, one cannot rely on a long run of games to find their form. With the top clubs, there are few chances to prove oneself, and if they are unable to be seized in that window, then it doesn’t matter how much quality one player may have. Just ask past departures such as Mohammed Salah, Juan Cuadrado and Kevin De Bruyne.
Falcao, excluding some quality performances between now and January, will have used up all his chances, and could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge unless Mourinho chooses to hold onto him for depth if they are unable to secure another striker in the transfer window.
However, Chelsea may have an answer to this depth problem internally.
According to other recent reports, Chelsea loanee Patrick Bamford may be recalled in January from Crystal Palace unless the striker finds his way into the first team much more often. The Englishman has only started one game for the Eagles, and none in the Premier League. This will be concerning for both himself and Chelsea. Alan Pardew had this to say about the Englishman:
It’s an obvious story: he’s not playing at the moment, someone has spun it. That’s unfortunate for Patrick because he’s working hard, but it is an obvious situation.
Pardew went on to talk about a potential recall situation.
If he doesn’t play any real time between now and January, we’ll have to look at it for sure. He’s had a lot of competition and he’s trying to understand the way we play, but if he gets the chance I’m sure he wants to take it. Is it up to him to prove himself? That’s difficult to say about that, but he’s fighting for his right to get into the team.
So if Chelsea want their young striker to gain experience, it’s clear that Crystal Palace might not be the right team to do so. It seems the Blues may need Bamford more than Palace do. Considering Remy is always tangled up with injuries, and Costa is both injury prone and likely to receive bans for his behavior, that leaves Falcao as the sole striker for Chelsea. Bamford could come into the picture and offer Mourinho something different. This would be coupled with his desire to prove himself at the Premier League level, and a top club.
In my opinion, while this move is unlikely, it would be a positive one for Chelsea. Bamford offers youthful exuberance and a hunger to prove himself. Last season, Bamford was the top player in the Championship. This is the type of talent ready to be tested at the highest level.
From Chelsea’s perspective, it would offer Chelsea more depth at the striker position, and allowing the Englishman to train with some of the best players in the world. This could streamline his improvement. Furthermore, it would give Mourinho more numbers, while not forcing him to enter the transfer market.
Bamford wouldn’t be cup-tied, and would be allowed to play in the Champions League, should Chelsea progress.
With Falcao not showing signs of turning around his misfortunes, Bamford could be exactly what Mourinho and Chelsea need at the striker position, in the form of depth and work ethic.
However, Crystal Palace will not easily part with the Englishman, as he represents depth for them as well. Falco is not likely to roll over and will continue to push for more opportunities to revive his career. Either way there are a lot of factors that could prevent this from occurring, yet Chelsea would be a better team if it could.
