Chelsea Transfer News: Latest on Radamel Falcao and Branislav Ivanovic Rumours

Chelsea are reportedly struggling to find an interested suitor for Monaco loanee Radamel Falcao as they look to offload the underperforming Colombian in the winter.  

For the Blues to offload Falcao in the new year, they will need to find another club to take him for the rest of his season-long loan period, as Monaco are reluctant to take him back to the Stade Louis II.

According to ESPN.co.uk’s Peter O’Rourke, Blues boss Jose Mourinho cannot find a club to take the 29-year-old following his consistent poor form in the Premier League.

Bleacher Report’s Dean Jones recently indicated that La Liga club Valencia were interested in taking Falcao for the rest of the season:

O’Rourke’s report says Monaco do not want to take him back early because they are reluctant to cover his huge wages, likely a key factor for any other potential suitors.

Furthermore, Falcao simply does not look like a top-class striker any more, and he hasn’t for the last 18 months.

He was remarkably poor in his season-long spell with Manchester United in 2014-15, and there was some surprise expressed when Mourinho opted to take a risk on signing him despite his Old Trafford malaise.

It is a risk that has not paid off as Falcao has netted just once in nine Premier League appearances and spent much of the campaign out injured, per WhoScored.com.

With Chelsea’s No. 1 striker Diego Costa also out of form, rumours have abounded the Blues will look to add another forward in the January transfer window, per Jack Lang of the Daily Mirror.

But if they cannot ship out Falcao to make way for a new No. 9, Chelsea may have to rethink their winter transfer strategy.

Another of the defending Premier League champions’ underperformers this season has been right-back Branislav Ivanovic.

The Serbian’s current deal at Stamford Bridge expires at the end of 2015-16 season, and Inter Milan are reportedly looking to sign him to a “lucrative pre-contract” in January, per Simon Johnson of the Evening Standard.

At 31 years old, Ivanovic is only eligible for a one-year extension at Chelsea under the club’s general rules for players over 30, and he may well be tempted if Inter offer him a longer deal.

Equally, Chelsea may not be overly concerned about keeping him past the end of the current season, as he has been largely poor for the Blues in the 2015-16 campaign.

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