If Atletico Madrid demanded Fernando Torres in part-exchange, is it a deal Chelsea should go for?
The last time Atletico Madrid agreed to sell on their star striker, Sergio Aguero, they took the £37 million they received from Manchester City and put it towards signing Falcao from Porto.
It is inarguable the player has been a success at Atletico, leading them to his second Europa League trophy win in succession, and the club’s second in three years.
If anybody was unsure just how lethal he was, he proved it against Chelsea in the Super Cup, bagging a first half hattrick against the defence which conceded just two goals in two games against Barcelona back in April.
Roman Abramovich, watching on from the stands that night in Monaco, is reported to be lining up a bid for the freescoring Colombian striker even as early as January.
Real Madrid are also interested, which could work in Chelsea’s favour as Atletico would not want to sell to their rivals.
Atletico would not want to sell at all, but realistically have little choice. Falcao is 26 and wants to play for an elite team, who are in the Champions League year in year out. Despite their sixth placed league finish last year, Chelsea have been an ever-present in the competition since 2003, and of course their penalty shootout win over Bayern Munich in May ensured their qualification for this season’s competition as champions.
However the real reason behind Atletico’s need to sell is their finances. They are heavily in debt, and are one of the clubs currently being threatened by UEFA that they stand to have prize money withdrawn thanks to irregularities.
Selling Falcao is a quick fix, but what they can’t do this year is go and spend the whole windfall on a replacement, as they did when they sold Aguero.
Their best bet may well be to do what has previously been mooted, bring back Fernando Torres in part-exchange.
What if Madrid demanded this as condition of sale? Should Chelsea accept?
Back in March it would have been almost clearcut, when the Spaniard had failed to score a league goal since September. Since then he has been a player revitalised, beginning with that goal against Barcelona, and has scored three goals in two games this season striking up a potent partnership with Eden Hazard.
In between of course he won the Euro 2012 Golden Boot, and his future looks promising. He is thriving on being Chelsea’s main man, and bringing in Falcao could possibly undermine that and throw him back into the shadow of a player he was when competing with Didier Drogba.
Torres is two years older than Falcao, and would command less in the transfer market. Atletico could still get £20-25 million in a transfer fee and sign the Spaniard, which would immediately appease their fans.
The deal could be good for Chelsea in the respect that they themselves would save cash, and after their big expenditure this season they have to start considering FFP sooner rather than later.
El Nino scored more than 90 goals for Atletico before leaving for Liverpool in 2007, and is still revered by the fans.
It is likely a possibility which may come up if negotiations begin for Falcao. If Torres suffers a drop off in form for Chelsea, they may just be persuaded to let him go. If he carries on scoring as he has done, the club will be extremely reluctant to consider it, even if it means getting Falcao.
What would you do if you were Abramovich and Atletico said they only way they would sell you Falcao was to take Torres back? Accept or walk away?
image: © Ronnie Macdonald
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