With the possible exception of Arsenals capture of Danny Welbeck, Manchester Uniteds signing of Radamel Falcao on a season-long loan was the biggest shock of deadline day and arguably one of the major surprises in the entirety of the transfer window. Nevertheless, Louis van Gaals final acquisition might just turn out to be a remarkable bit of business. Last season was a largely miserable experience for the Old Trafford faithful as David Moyes failed to follow successfully in the footsteps of fellow Glaswegian Sir Alex Ferguson and was let go in April. Dutchman van Gaal arrived to great acclaim and, initially, renewed optimism in light of his outstanding track record, but his first few games have given some indication of the size of the task facing him if he is to restore the Red Devils to championship-winning form. United were always going to be active in the transfer market and Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rojo were shown to be mere appetisers when the club broke the bank to sign Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid for £60 million. Di Maria is a magnificent player, but many seasoned observers perceived his arrival at the club to be the icing on a cake that needs more time in the oven, the squad's defensive options still looking distinctly shaky. So now the cherry on the icing on the cake has arrived and Man Utd can field an attacking line-up to rival any to be found in Europe. Falcao was prolific in his time at Atlético Madrid, scoring 70 goals in his last two years at the club, and an injury-affected season at Monaco did not prevent him from netting on 11 occasions. Make no mistake the Colombian will score goals and plenty of them, and if Man Utd choose to pick up an option to make his loan deal permanent next summer, the 55 million fee may yet prove a bargain. With Rooney, Van Persie, Mata and Di Maria also vying for goals, Falcao may have to learn to share, but he has surely been brought in as the focal point of their attack and should light up the Premier League. So who did we miss? Feel free to add your two cents below.
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