Signing Falcao not a risk

The signing of Radamel Falcao does not represent a risk for Chelsea,
according to former Stamford Bridge star Clive Walker.
Falcao became one of the most feared strikers in world football due to his
goalscoring exploits at Porto and Atletico Madrid, but a serious knee
injury ended a promising debut season at Monaco in the 2013-14
campaign in which he scored nine goals in 17 Ligue 1 appearances.
Having recovered from that setback, Manchester United brought the
Colombia international to Old Trafford last season, but Louis van Gaal's
move failed to yield reward as he scored just four Premier League goals in
a disappointing and expensive loan spell.
Despite his struggles in England, Jose Mourinho has long been an admirer
of Falcao and, after weeks of speculation, the Portuguese finally got his
man after it was confirmed the 29-year-old would move to Chelsea for
the upcoming season.
And Walker - who made over 200 appearances for Chelsea between 1976
and 1984 - believes that Falcao could prove a shrewd signing if he can
rediscover the form that made him hot property throughout Europe.
"I don't think it's a risk for Chelsea. There's no signing fee so there's no
weight as there was on, for example, Fernando Torres because there was a
£50million weight when we purchased him," Walker told Perform.
"I think in this situation, with a loan, I don't think it's a risk for Chelsea. I'd
like to think Falcao will improve on the season he had last year, maybe he's
got used to the Premier League a little bit more.
"Also, Chelsea play a different style to Manchester United and Jose sees
that as a situation where Falcao will be a better player in the Premier
League because of the style Chelsea play.
"I think it's a good move for Chelsea and I think it's also going to be a big
season for Falcao. He needs to get himself back on track and what a
wonderful player he's been in the past.
"I just think over the last couple of seasons he's probably lost his way a
little bit. He had the injury and maybe Monaco wasn't the right place to go
to and he didn't really perform at United so it's a big, big season for him."
Walker also believes that Mourinho is the right man to instill the confidence
back in Falcao, adding: "I know Jose has admired him from his time in
Spain and Portugal.
"He knows what he's doing when he's buying players Jose Mourinho, and
he certainly feels he can be a big asset this season.
"I think when Jose Mourinho makes a decision - and we're talking about a
world-class player now - and okay it's a season-long loan, but I'm sure
the wages are quite high. So when paying quite a bit of money for
someone Jose Mourinho likes to get it right."