Manchester United are ready to sign Ramadel Falcao on a permanent basis following reports of manager Louis van Gaal sanctioning a whopping £40 million move for the Colombian.
This piece of news comes as a big surprise as the Colombian has been very unimpressive this season, scoring three goals from 11 appearances.
Apart from that, he has also struggled with his fitness this season, spending a lot of time on the sidelines since his loan-switch from AS Monaco on the summer transfer deadline day.
Keeping all these in mind, van Gaal was certainly not expected to shell out £40 million plus £265,000-a-week in wages for Falcao, but according to Spanish Newspaper Marca, the Dutchman is convinced that the Colombian is worth investing in.
Earlier some reports had indicated that United would only be signing Falcao on a permanent basis if he was able to prove his fitness, as the striker has had a lot of problems since sustaining a serious knee injury that ruled him out for five months last season.
However, it is understood that United are now satisfied with Falcao's fitness after he managed to pass a series of tests at Old Trafford.
The striker was earlier the most-feared striker when he was in Porto and Atletico Madrid, scoring 41 in 51 appearances and 52 goals in 68 games in the Portuguese league and the La Liga respectively.
His terrific form resulted in him completing a €60-million move to Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, making him one of the world's highest-earning players with a salary of €18.2 million per annum.
Meanwhile, van Gaal feels that his side's draw against Stoke City on New Year's Day was a fair result.
The Red Devils were initially struggling after Ryan Shawcross gave the Potters an early lead, but they soon recovered as Falcao found the leveller just before the break. And the Dutchman feels that the 1-1 score line was a fair reflection of the game.
"I think it was a fair result as neither side deserved more than a point," he told MUTV. "Maybe Stoke deserved it a little bit more than us, they came close when they hit the post. In spite of the space and time Stoke gave us, we didn't create so much."
"Our build-up play wasn't great and our last pass wasn't always good. Certainly, our crosses weren't always good. If that's the case, you can't create any goals."
