Former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has pushed the club to sign top transfer target Falcao – claiming he could become the new Javier Hernandez.
New Blues boss Andre Villas-Boas is ready to bring the £26.5million-rated striker to Stamford Bridge having managed the Colombia ace at Porto where they won the treble last season.
And former Holland international Hasselbaink has backed the 25-year-old to fit into the club’s formation and emulate the Manchester United star who scored 20 goals in his first season at Old Trafford.
The manager would like to play a 4-3-3 with Falcao in the middle, he is a player and a goal scorer,' said Hasselbaink, 39, who also called on Villas-Boas to make more ‘creative’ signings.
‘He’s a little bit like Chicharito and if he can be as successful as Chicharito, he will be a great, great signing.
‘I would like to see players who can beat other players and can create chances for other players. A Modric, a Sneijder or a Neymar. Those are the players that Chelsea need.’
Hasselbaink, who scored 88 goals in 177 appearances for the Blues, also dismissed claims that Villas-Boas was too young to take charge at Stamford Bridge.
The 33-year-old was appointed manager on Wednesday following his resignation from Porto the day before and returns to the club where he acted as part of Jose Mourinho’s back-room staff from 2004 to 2007.
And it is his previous behind-the-scenes links that Hasselbaink thinks will help rather than hinder the new Blues boss.
‘It’s a great appointment, it’s someone young and different and Chelsea needs something fresh with young blood’, he added.
‘No [he won’t struggle,] he’s been there before, he knows what’s going on. I don’t think he is going to have any problem.
‘I don’t think they [the players] had a lot of contact with him. The majority of the players that were there the first time around have gone.
'There’s only John Terry, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba and obviously he is going to bring in new faces as well so I don’t think his past role is going to cause him any problems.'
With Chelsea targeting central midfielders as well as strikers, Hasselbaink is uncertain over the futures of long-time servants Lampard, Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.
All three are over 30 and the Dutchman believes that the club may already be looking at plans to bring in new blood.
‘I don’t know [about Lampard’s future]. He had a big injury last year and might not play every game. How long can Lampard do what he is doing? I think the club are making plans for when he can no longer do what he used to do. But if Lampard keeps producing he will play.
‘They are definitely under threat, of course. When you have Torres you saw Drogba on the bench quite a bit and Anelka as well.
'If Falcao comes I definitely see one of Drogba and Anelka going – if not both.’
Hasselbaink, who has achieved his UEFA coaching badges C, B and A since retiring from the game, also claimed the Blues will struggle to see the best of Torres in their current system.
The striker arrived from Liverpool for £50million in January but has scored just one goal and the 39-year-old believes injuries and tactics were to blame.
‘I don’t think he was 100 per cent fit, he went to the World Cup, came back with knee problems and didn’t get a pre-season. He didn’t play that well for Liverpool and then joined Chelsea where they have a totally different system where they don’t play with a No 10 and that’s what Torres needs.
‘Chelsea would have to change their way of playing, Torres can’t play in a 4-3-3 and if they did they need a more creative midfielder to play a lot closer to him.’
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