A plane is expected to come into Manchester airport at 4.50pm this
afternoon from Nice and sources expect Falcao to be on board as he
heads for talks and a medical at Old Trafford ahead of a loan that is
worth between £5-6million.
The last 24 hours have seen the
Colombia international linked with a host of Premier League clubs
including Arsenal and Manchester City as well as European champions Real
Madrid.
Real appeared to be favourites to sign Falcao after he
tweeted "Hello Madrid" on Saturday – only to delete it not long
afterwards, but United now look to have won the race to sign the
28-year-old.
Falcao’s move is Louis van Gaal’s
way of inspiring a team that has yet to win a Premier League game this
season, despite the arrival of Angel di Maria, who made his debut in
Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Burnley.
“If Falcao comes then I think it
is fantastic competition for places because when you look at how the
game is played now, it is no longer an 11-man game – it’s a 14-man game
every week.
“The way the
game is going that’s going to become more dependent on players coming
in, making an impact and being flexible and moving around.
“This
will actually kick Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie on a little bit –
they’ll be thinking ‘ok, we’ve got to fire even further than we have
been’.
“To make Manchester United improve, Louis van Gaal doesn’t
just rely on reputations – he builds his teams around people pushing
each other and really buying into his philosophy, but also increased
competition and Falcao coming to Manchester United is a wonderful lift
to the football club if it comes off.”
The arrival of Falcao may see Javier Hernandez or Danny Welbeck leave Old Trafford as Van Gaal makes space in his squad.
Hernandez
has been linked with a move to Real Madrid, and Welbeck is reported to
be wanted by a number of Premier League clubs with Sunderland, Arsenal,
Tottenham and Hull City all interested.