Di Matteo hints at Chelsea interest in Falcao

The Blues boss insisted that any manager would love a player of the 26-year-old's quality in their squad, while refusing to rule out transfer activity in the January window

Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has hinted at the possibility of signing Radamel Falcao, after admitting that the Blues will be short of strikers during the African Cup of Nations in January.

The 42-year-old refused to comment on the club's transfer target but did reveal his admiration for the former Porto man, stating he rates Falcao as one of the greatest attackers on the planet.

"If you ask any manager, he would have him in his team," he told reporters.

"He is one of the best strikers, probably, in European and world football.

"His ratio of goals per game is quite impressive, not just this season but over the last three seasons, at Porto and Atletico Madrid."

Chelsea are likely to lose Nigerian forward Victor Moses in January, due to the African Nations Cup, limiting their recognised options up front to goal-shy Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge, who hasn't started a league game so far this season. 

Di Matteo admitted the period will leave them short of firepower, and refused to rule out the possibility of transfer window activity.

"We're looking at that, because we'll lose Victor and John Obi Mikel for that tournament," he added.

"We'll look and see how we deal with it, but for the moment we're okay."