Chelsea completed nearly £80m worth of transfers during the summer window, spending chunks of money on players like Eden Hazard (from Lille for £32m) and Oscar (from Internacional for £25m). However, it appears the Blues have still not put away the cheque book.

Atletico Madrid's Radamel Falcao
Reuters

The latest player to be linked with a move to Roman Abramovich's second revolution at Stamford Bridge is striker Radamel Falcao of Atletico Madrid. The news comes after the Colombian single-handedly destroyed the Blues in the final of the 2012 UEFA European Super Cup; the Spanish club trounced the Champions League winners 4-1, with Brazilian Miranda scoring Los Colchoneros' fourth and Gary Cahill grabbing a consolation for the English club.

The Daily Mail reports a deal has already been agreed between the two clubs and the transfer will take place on 1 January. The deal is reportedly worth £48m and Atletico's obvious unhappiness at selling their star will be offset by the money, which will help them deal with existing financial problems.

The Blues have been searching for a striker to replace Ivorian international Didier Drogba, who left Stamford Bridge on a free transfer earlier in the summer. Drogba's goals have often been critical in the success the club has enjoyed in recent years, the best examples being his strikes in the FA Cup and Champions League final last season.

Roberto Di Matteo does have Spain international Fernando Torres at his disposal but the £50m signing from Liverpool, a former Atletico player, has not been anywhere near his best in recent seasons and a second world-class striker is almost certainly needed.

Chelsea were linked with a number of players through the summer, notably FC Porto's Brazilian centre forward Hulk and Napoli's Edinson Cavani. However, the Portuguese club's president Pinto da Costa refused to let his star leave for less than his release clause of nearly £80m. The Serie A outfit were equally unwilling to sell their star, pricing him at £35m. Cavani's wage demands of £150,000 per week were another stumbling block.

Falcao, 26, has netted a stunning six times in his last two games, following his hat-trick against Athletic Bilbao in La Liga with the three against Chelsea.

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