Manchester United agree Falcao loan -- should Chelsea have been involved?

Radamel Falcao had been linked to Manchester City and Arsenal on deadline day, because nobody thought that Manchester United would be crazy enough to spend gargantuan amounts of money on reinforcing their forward line still further while their defence and midfield languishes. It turns out that Manchester United are indeed that crazy -- they've agreed a season-long loan deal with Monaco pending a medical and personal terms with the Colombian centre forward.

The rumoured fee? The mind-boggling sum of £20 million has been thrown about, and if it's anywhere near that, with Falcao's wages he's immediately the most expensive player (on a yearly basis) in the league.

Should Chelsea have been in for him? Despite the balky knee (and ACL tears represent a serious risk in a new signing) Falcao's pretty clearly a better player than Loïc Rémy, the man we brought in to replace the outgoing Fernando Torres, and he would obviously have helped the club. That said, he represents an insane expenditure, and I'd have hoped we'd have learned from the aforementioned Torres in that regard.

So while I'd have liked Falcao -- and I'm sure that we were offered him -- I'm perfectly content with our front line at present, and if Manchester United want to spend big on a forward while their midfield and defence resembles a pub team, that's fine. If the cited figures are correct, this one is far too rich for my blood.