LONDON: Premier League champions Chelsea signed Colombia striker Radamel Falcao on a season-long loan from Monaco on Friday with an option to make the deal permanent.

The 29-year-old had an indifferent spell on loan at Manchester United last term, scoring four goals in 29 games. “I am very happy to be joining Chelsea and can’t wait to start training and help with our aim of retaining the league title and being successful in Europe,” Falcao said.

Falcao, who failed to score for Colombia at this year’s Copa America where they reached quarter-finals, previously played for River Plate, Porto and Atletico Madrid.

He became one of Europe’s most feared strikers, having started his career as a teenager in Colombia before joining River in 2001.

Falcao will be reunited at Chelsea with former Atletico team-mates Thibaut Courtois, Filipe Luis and Diego Costa, the player he played in attack with during their 2013 King’s Cup triumph over Real Madrid, plus Colombia colleague Juan Cuadrado.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2015

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