Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has admitted that captain John Terry and defender Gary Cahill convinced him to sign striker Radamel Falcao from AS Monaco.
The 29-year-old will join the Chelsea squad tomorrow ahead of the first game of their US tour on Thursday against the New York Red Bulls.
Mourinho thinks the Colombia international can replace Didier Drogba and get back playing at his maximum potential after an unimpressive spell on loan at title rivals Manchester United last season.
The forward managed to score just four goals in his time at Old Trafford but after skipper Terry and centre-half partner Cahill played against him last season, they let Mourinho know of his capabilities.
Mourinho admitted that his mind were made up after a discussion with Terry and Cahill, he said: “Last season I watched our home game against Manchester United a few times because of him.
“I spoke with John and Cahill a lot about him and we think the bright movement is there, the movement to get freedom in the box to score goals is there.
“Our players had difficulty to control him and we feel the potential is there. Let’s see if he can improve his confidence, his happiness. If the fact we have a good community of Portuguese people, plus the guys who were with him in Atletico Madrid, let’s see if this situation can help him.
“We believe that now he has already played a season in the Premier League, he could be a different player.” he added.
Falcao will not feature in the Blues’ friendly against the Red Bulls and is looking like he won’t get any minutes against Paris Saint-Germain next weekend.
Mourinho is looking to play him in the final game against FC Barcelona in Washington DC to ensure that his reoccurring knee injuries don not flare up again.
On Falcao’s playing time, Mourinho said: “I will give him half-an-hour against Barcelona but he has to be ready for the first league game [against Swansea].
“Maybe not the Community Shield. After two-and-a-half weeks of training, he must be ready.
“He can be second, first or third choice. He knows, Diego Costa knows and Loic Remy knows that. It is open competition between the three of them. That’s our objective, that’s why we want three strikers ready and important.
“Last season Remy was basically the third forward but he scored so many important goals for us in crucial moments that gave us crucial points – the goal against Hull City, the goal against Stoke.
“And Falcao is so motivated. When you are a top player, you have to live with this all through your career and you adapt to it. We felt his frustration. He is not happy that in England people think he is not as good as he is. That’s his motivation.” he added.
The Blues boss is having a summer clear-out to make-way for more signing coming in with Brazilian left-back Felipe Luis on the verge of re-signing for former side Atletico Madrid – just one year after arriving at Stamford Bridge for £13million.
Mourinho is also letting winger Mohamed Salah leave the Premier League champions, he said: “I see Salah’s future elsewhere, either as a loan or an offer that we are happy to accept.”
By Drew Darbyshire (@DarbySports)
