Jose Mourinho: I spoke with John Terry and Gary Cahill before signing Radamel Falcao... we believe he can return to form

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Radamel Falcao will fly in to meet his Chelsea team-mates in New York on Tuesday for the first time and it’s possible he might be moved to seek out a couple of his new colleagues and thank them for his second chance in English football.

Though there is still a debate to be had as to whether the Colombian striker can still cut it after his knee ligament surgery in 2014, having scored just four goals for Manchester United last season, it turns out Falcao had some powerful advocates in the Chelsea dressing room.

When Jose Mourinho was weighing up whether Falcao was a suitable replacement for Didier Drogba, he sought out his centre halves, John Terry and Gary Cahill. And the reports he received back confirmed his own instincts: Falcao can still make an impression on the Premier League. 

Radamel Falcao is currently on holiday in Miami ahead of attempting to prove his worth to Jose Mourinho

Falcao looked in shape in the sea and Chelsea are convinced that Mourinho can get him back to his best

The Chelsea striker may have had a poor season but he had plenty of fans asking for photos on the beach

United might have lost 1-0 at Stamford Bridge back in April but it seemed Falcao did enough that evening to convince the Chelsea defenders he is still a handful.

‘I spoke with John Terry and Gary Cahill a lot about him,’ said Mourinho. ‘And we think the bright movement is there, the movement to get freedom in the box to score goals is there. Our players had difficulty to control him all the time and we feel the potential is there.’

Chelsea have thoroughly checked out the knee ligament injury Falcao sustained in 2014 for Monaco and believe there is no medical reason why he should be impaired. More likely, the culture shock of moving to Manchester United where it appeared that Louis van Gaal never truly had complete confidence in him hampered him. That, at least, is the theory.

Falcao endured torrid time at Old Trafford last season as he failed to earn an extended stay in Manchester

 Jose Mourinho insists Falcao can help Chelsea as much as they can help him this coming season

‘Let's see if he can improve his confidence, his happiness,’ said Mourinho. ‘If the fact we have a good community of Portuguese people (Falcao’s first European club was Porto), plus the guys who were with him in Atletico (Diego Costa, Filipe Luis), let's see if this situation can help him.’

Three years ago Falcao, then 26, looked to be the most fearsome striker in Europe and as manager of Atletico Madrid’s city rivals, Mourinho had a close up view. In those days, he was ahead of Diego Costa in the pecking order. Mourinho, who shares an agent with Falcao in Jorge Mendes, believes he can return to that form.

‘We believe so. I watch Portuguese football regularly and in Porto he was very good. When he was at Atletico, I was in Real Madrid so there were a few years where I was with him all the time. Last season I watched our game against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge a few times because of him.’

Three years ago Falcao, then 26 and at Atletico Madrid, looked to be the most fearsome striker in Europe

Mourinho revealed he asked Gary Cahill and John Terry for their thoughts on Falcao before he signed  

Blues captain Terry gets to grips with Falcao during Chelsea's 1-0 win against Manchester United last season

What makes Mourinho believe is Falcao’s desire. The Colombian is unhappy that he is perceived a failure in England after his year at United. He is apparently determined to put that right. ‘It's his motivation,’ said Mourinho.

‘When you are not a top player, I think you never feel frustrated. You are not a top player, you have to live with this all through your career and you adapt to it. We felt his frustration. He is not happy that in England people think he is not as good as he is and his motivation is there. 

‘He did a lot of things to come to us. He lost money to come to us, he didn't want to listen to other offers. He helped us a lot to do a deal with Monaco. So all these things together we think we can help him and he can help us.’

Van Gaal didn’t seem to feel the same last season, though Mourinho is unlikely ever to criticise his former mentor. ‘I don't want to go there. Every team has their style of play and every manager has their way of football. If Mr Van Gaal didn't play him more it's because he had his ideas and we have to respect that.

The 29-year-old is currently on holiday with his wife Lorelei Taron following his Copa America exploits

‘I don't want to go in the Man United direction. Our team is our team. If we want to play with Costa and him together, it is something they did before when they were in Atletico. We think all the conditions are good. We are not going to put any pressure on him. We are not expecting him to join us Tuesday and then play on Saturday and score a hat-trick. We are going to let things go without any pressure, but all the support he can have.’

He will be eased into this tour, a spectator against the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday and a substitute appearance against Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday likely to be his first appearance in a Chelsea shirt. But Mourinho expects him to be ready to face Swansea on the opening day of the Premier League season, despite his time at Copa America in the summer.

Diego Costa looks set to be Chelsea's main striker, but Mourinho insists it could yet be Falcao

Falcao will be hoping to make a new name for himself at Stamford Bridge this season

‘He has to be ready for the first League game. Maybe not the Community Shield. But after two-and-a-half weeks of training, he must be ready.

And though he may start behind his old team-mate Diego Costa in the Chelsea pecking order, the Chelsea manager insists there is no such hierarchy, that the centre forward spot is up for grabs.

‘He can be second, first or third. He knows that, Diego knows and Loic Remy knows that. It is open competition between the three of them. That's our objective, that's why we want three strikers ready and important.’

At least Falcao is among friends now, and he is wanted, so it is possible we might see the player that once terrorised defenders. Cahill and Terry, at least, are pleased he won’t be around to trouble them.