Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has joined the hunt for Atletico Madrid's £47million-rated striker Radamel Falcao.
Manchester City and Chelsea have both been strongly linked with Falcao, who has established himself as one of the world's most prolific marksmen by scoring 54 goals for Atletico since arriving in Spain from Porto in 2011.
But it is understood that United have now joined the bidding for the 27-year-old Colombian and are prepared to let Javier Hernandez move to Madrid as part of the deal.
The Premier League leaders are ready to meet the £47m buyout clause in Falcao's contract by offering the Spaniards £27m cash plus Hernandez who they value at £20m.
Although reports in Spain yesterday suggested that a downpayment has already been made, it is believed that United's interest is still in its early stages.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone responded to the speculation by saying: 'Falcao is a great player and it's logical that the best teams in the world are interested in him. It doesn't surprise me.'
If United were to land Falcao it would be a bitter blow to Chelsea, who thought they were winning the race to sign him, and City boss Roberto Mancini who believes Robin van Persie's decision to choose Old Trafford over the Etihad Stadium last summer has been a key factor in this season's title battle.
However, any club wanting to sign Falcao will have to resolve an issue of third-party ownership due to the fact that a company run by former United and Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon and agent Jorge Mendes has owned a stake in the player since helping to finance his £34m move from Porto.
