The Premier League will miss out on the presence of one of the top fives’ prime forward targets, AS Monaco ace Ramadal Falcao, who has agreed to join European champions Real Madrid on a season-long loan deal.
La Liga all-star side Madrid have sealed the season-long loan deal for Falcao at a whopping £20m, with the intention of making the contract a permanent one next season – an arrangement that will keep them within the boundaries of the Financial Fair Play regulations for the next 12 months.
The 28-year-old Colombia international striker had been hot property for several months in Britain, with a number of top clubs keen to sign him including Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Chelsea had been making their intentions clear since the return of their all-time most successful coach Jose Mourinho last summer, but had backed off since their acquisition of Spanish hitman Diego Costa, who they signed from La Liga champions Atletico Madrid last month.
Arsenal had recently stepped up their interest since being left with problems on the frontline as a result of the long-term injury absence of striker Olivier Giroud, who will be out for at least six months.
Liverpool, who lost their key goal-scorer Luis Suarez to Barcelona this summer, are understood to have shied away owing to their lack of desire to pay the players’ extortionate salary demands.
Falcao will join superstar players including Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale as the Madrid heavyweights challenge for their 11th European title and their 33rd La Liga title this season.