What's next for (still) Chelsea strikers Loïc Rémy and Radamel Falcao?

At certain points over the previous few weeks, both Loïc Rémy and Radamel Falcao looked to be one foot out the door at Chelsea, ready to head off to adventures new and old, close to home and far away.  And yet, despite all the rumors, all the stories, and all the exclusives, they both remain not only on Chelsea's books but in Chelsea's squad after the final transfer window the 2015-16 season SLAMMED shut Monday night.  (Transfer windows never just close, they always slam.)

So what's next for the pair?

Falcao, whose loan contract with Chelsea will expire in the summer, will no doubt return to Monaco then, at which point he'll cease to be our concern (finally) and we can forget about this whole reclamation project.  There was some hope that Monaco would take him back now, but his latest injury managed to quickly nip that rumor in the bud.  In the final hour, there was still renewed hope that agent Jorge Mendes could work his magic (and work himself yet another payday), but even though Falcao was apparently holed up in a hotel in Madrid, no move back to Atlético ever materialized.  Other than common sense, part of the reason for that could be Atlético's failure to move Jackson Martinez.  Apparently, there were talks with China for Jackson, but those fell through at the last minute.  Incidentally, the Chinese Super League's transfer window is open until February 26, so they could theoretically still offer Falcao and Chelsea an escape route...

Chinese Super League clubs can sign players until February 26 so still (some) hope for Falcao if Mendes didn't get the Atletico move #cfc

— Matt Law (@Matt_Law_DT) February 1, 2016

Meanwhile, Loïc Rémy's rumored prospects lay a bit closer to home.  With his main goal supposedly being a place in the France squad for Euro 2016, he was looking for a way to showcase his talents a bit more than as a second or third striker at Chelsea.  Loan moves to Newcastle United, Crystal Palace, Leicester City were the most prominent rumors, the latter of which even turned into a very strong permanent move story.  All of that turned out to be nothing but sheer bunk.

@jwh1982 sometimes right, sometimes wrong. That's the tag line on my business card!

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) February 1, 2016

Am told that Loic Remy will remain at Chelsea and there were no serious discussions about him leaving. Same as last week... #CFC #LCFC #NUFC

— Duncan Castles (@DuncanCastles) February 1, 2016

There's a whole conversation that could and should be had here about standards and sources and the like — here's one excellently written piece about the dire state of football journalism.

@marcotti Hi Gab, yr ESPN 'what can we believe' piece prompted me to write this.Time for higher sourcing standards? https://t.co/wJcA3WhQ2A

— Andrew Gray (@andrew_r_gray) February 1, 2016

In any case, as far as Rémy's future is concerned, he will have two more years left on his Chelsea contract at the end of this season.  I could easily envision him staying on as a backup — at almost 30 years of age, his best days are probably past him; I could easily envision him moving on and looking for more minutes elsewhere — at almost 30 years of age, it's quite possibly his final chance at a starring role.  A lot could depend on just how well Pato's loan works out or what happens with Diego Costa and the never-ending rumors there, or, most importantly, what happens with a new manager coming in and whom he might prefer.  We'll just have to wait and see.

For now, both Rémy and Falcao are ours.  Once recovered from their respective injuries, they might even play a part going forward for the rest of the season, giving us a rather luxurious four options for just one spot in the lineup.