Jose Mourinho is excited by the prospect of seeing Radamel Falcao in action for Chelsea and hopes the feared striker can return to his best form.
The Colombian, who is on loan from Monaco, had a torrid time at Manchester United last season but is itching to get back to full power at Stamford Bridge.
And Mourinho believes he compliments his team sufficiently well enough to merit a place in his squad.
He said: “I like him, I like him a lot as a player. I think the team plays very well with a striker of his quality.
“It’s not just a guy who can score a goal, he is always a threat and is a guy who contributes a lot to the quality of the game.”
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Falcao impressed in the penalty shoot-out win over Barcelona after Eden Hazard was withdrawn and his contribution has impressed the Special One.
He added: “We were losing against Barcelona. I took Eden Hazard out so I was not too worried about the result because if I was then I would keep Eden playing for 90 minutes and stick with my plan.
“I let Eden play only for 70 but Falcao was in and certainly the team was direct, was objective, he (Falcao) was holding the ball very well, the team was closing the lines and playing in the opposition half.
“I like him a lot. I’m very happy with his first week, it’s only been a week but I am very happy with this week.
Falcao destroyed Chelsea in the 2012 UEFA Super Cup but a cruciate ligament injury saw him struggle to recapture that form at Old Trafford.
But Mourinho thinks that, with confidence, he can return to being one of the most feared strikers in the world.
He added: “I was not expecting him to come here, play against Barcelona and score three goals.
“I was waiting for his determination to work, to be part of the team, to understand the way we play football and I am happy with that.
“At the start, I just worry that he adapts and that he is happy, we are happy with him and he performs and they give us what we want.
“To become again a super scorer, let’s see what happens. But for the moment we are happy.”
Mourinho normally plays with one striker but could use Falcao and Remy as part of a front two, or even the Falcao-Costa partnership that has potential to strike fear into defences.
He said: “Don’t forget Remy, because I am very happy with Remy, really happy with Remy. We could use two strikers, we did against Barcelona, last 20 minutes we played Remy and Falcao.
“They did very well, not just to bring the team forward but also to bring in players from midfield because we had one less player in midfield to close the spaces and to control the space in front of the midfield line. We are growing step by step and, yes, we can do it, too.”
