Cuadrado considered 'key' in Falcao reclamation project

The consensus around Juan Cuadrado -- at least the Chelsea version -- is that he's a little bit useless. And in fairness, that's probably better than what he's been for the club so far, which is a lot useless. After his arrival in January, the Colombian winger has done very little in limited time, appearing both mentally and physically frail.

Those traits are, apparently, only acceptable in former Liverpool players, and so the majority of fans would be more than happy to see the back of him. But his agent has said that he's not going anywhere, and according to Simon Johnson of the London Evening Standard, who's been reliable at pulling out Chelsea news for more than a year now, that's at least in part because Jose Mourinho wants him at Stamford Bridge in order to help Radamel Falcao settle in after the forward arrives from Monaco.

There's nothing wrong with a one-year reclamation project, of course, but we've seen how keeping players we don't really need just to help their friends feel a little happier has gone in the past, and that just doesn't feel like a compelling reason to keep an expensive dud around. A better one, perhaps, is the simple truth -- we haven't seen enough of Cuadrado to make a definitive decision yet, and the player who starred with Colombia and Fiorentina might still be coaxed out.

If Cuadrado's being kept around because Mourinho's confident in his ability to rebound and thinks he can help Falcao get better, fine. I guess. It wouldn't be the most romantic start to the summer, but I can live with it.