When Manchester United brought in Radamel Falcao on loan at the start of the season many assumed that the Colombian superstar would set the Premier League on fire.  Unfortunately for the Red Devils and their fans, this hasn’t been the case.  In 24 league appearances, Falcao has only managed to score four goals.

With the Colombian struggling to find his form, manager Louis van Gaal has predominantly used Falcao as a substitute in recent months.  The 29-year-old striker has made only two starts over the last eight league matches for United.

Having such a high-profile player on the bench is certainly not an ideal situation for van Gaal, especially considering the player’s salary.  Falcao reportedly makes around £15 million per season according for various sources. 

Keeping the Colombian’s yearly earnings in mind, listed below is a Premier League starting XI that combined makes just less than Falcao by himself.

Goalkeeper: Costel Pantilimon, Sunderland. £1.1 million.  Despite the fact that Sunderland are currently in the relegation zone, the 6’8” Pantilimon has been outstanding for the Black Cats this season.  The Romanian has more clean sheets (eight) this campaign than Tim Howard, Tim Krul and Hugo Lloris.

Right-back: Nathaniel Clyne, Southampton.  £1.7 million.  The sought-after England defender is one of the top right-backs in all of English soccer.  Although the 24-year-old has claimed that he is “happy to stay” at Southampton, he will certainly attract attention from the big clubs this summer.

Center-back: Ron Vlaar, Aston Villa.  £1.3 million.  Although the Dutch international has endured an injury-laden 2014/15 campaign, he is a very solid defender when fit and on the pitch.  The 30-year-old has made over 30 appearances for the Netherlands national team.

Center-back: Jose Fonte, Southampton.  £660,000.  Perhaps the most undervalued defender in the Premier League, Fonte is outstanding in Southampton’s defense.  A bit of a late bloomer, as Fonte just made his Portugal senior international debut last year, the 31-year-old is widely seen as one of the more reliable defenders in the league.

Left-back: Ryan Bertrand, Southampton.  £2.2 million.  Rounding out a trio of defenders from the south coast, Bertrand was the only Southampton player to be included in the PFA Team of the Year.  The former Chelsea player has loads of potential and his £10 million permanent move looks like yet another good piece of business by the Saints.

Midfielder: Francis Coquelin, Arsenal.  £1 million.  Coquelin has been a revelation for the Gunners this season.  Since the 23-year-old returned from loan at Charlton in December, Arsenal has the best record in the Premier League.  The defensive midfielder has helped solidify his team with a tenacious style of play in the middle of the pitch.

Midfielder: Mile Jedinak, Crystal Palace.  £850,000.  Similar like Fonte, Jedinak is one of the more underrated players at his position in the Premier League.  The Australia international has scored five goals and added three assists from his deep-lying midfield role.  Jedinak is currently the sixth-highest rated player in the league according to whoscored.com.

Midfielder:  Gylfi Sigurdsson, Swansea City.  £1.5 million.  Only Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas has more league assists than the Sigurdsson.  Along with his 10 assists, the Iceland international has also netted six goals as well.

Midfielder:  Bojan Krkic, Stoke City.  £725,000.  Before suffering a serious knee injury that has forced him to miss over four months of playing time, Bojan was a smash hit for Stoke.  The former Barcelona player scored four goals over his last eight total matches (including this superb volley in January).

Forward: Harry Kane, Tottenham Hotspur.  £1.8 million.  Kane has taken the Premier League by storm during the 2014/15 campaign.  The England international has 20 Premier League goals so far this season, second most in the league, and more than his previous league goals over the last four seasons combined.

Forward: Christian Benteke, Aston Villa.  £2 million.  Despite missing the start of the season with an achilles injury, the Belgium international has scored an astounding 11 goals over his last nine total matches.  Benteke is considered one of the best center-forwards in the Premier League today.