Jose Mourinho has revealed he spoke to Chelsea captain John Terry and Gary Cahill for advice, before signing Radamel Falcao on a season-long loan deal earlier this summer.
The Chelsea boss admitted he had no hesitation in signing the striker after the Blues’ centre-back pairing had given the Colombian a glowing review.
Falcao played against Terry and Cahill in Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in April.
And the Chelsea duo told Mourinho the striker is still a player to be feared, after he almost levelled for United in April when he hit the post.
Speaking about the decision on whether to sign Falcao, Mourinho said: “I watched our game against Manchester United a few times.
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.”
The 29-year-old was once considered one of the best strikers in world football during his time at Atletico Madrid.
The Colombian forward netted 52 goals in just 68 appearances in La Liga from 2011-2013; as well as a truly outstanding hat-trick against Chelsea in the UEFA Super Cup Final in 2012.
Falcao made the £42m move to Monaco in July 2013 but suffered a serious knee injury in January 2014, with the striker struggling to recreate his best form.
The 29-year-old suffered a further setback, this time the dreaded achilles injury, before his loan spell at United last season.
His time at Old Trafford was well documented by the media and the striker showed brief glimpses of how good he can be.
But a return of just four goals and being forced to play with the reserves by Louis Van Gaal somewhat tarnished his prolific goalscoring record.
However, Mourinho is confident Falcao can return to his best at Chelsea.
The striker, who took a significant pay cut to join Chelsea, was believed to play the role of second or third-choice striker at the Bridge next season, but the Blues boss stated he can become number one if he performs.
“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.
“If we want, we can play with Costa and him together – it is something they did before when they were in Atletico.
Can he be the Falcao of Atletico? We believe so. I don’t want to go there (why he struggled at Man Utd).
“Every team has their style of play and every manager has their way of football. If Mr Van Gaal didn’t play him more it’s because he had his ideas and we have to respect that.”
Falcao is set to join the squad on their pre-season tour of North America later today, after having an extended time off due to his involvement with Colombia in the Copa America.
