Radamel Falcao signs for Manchester United from Monaco

Colombia striker will sign a one-year loan deal, subject to a medical, and compete with Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie for a starting spot.

Monaco’s Colombian forward Radamel Falcao celebrates after scoring a goal during the French Ligue 1 match between FC Nantes and Monaco on August 24, 2014, at the La Beaujoire Stadium, in Nantes, western France. Jean-Sebastien Evrard / AFP PhotoShow less

Manchester United have agreed a loan deal for Monaco’s Colombia striker Radamel Falcao subject to a medical and agreeing personal terms with the player.

A deal for one of the most sought-after strikers in the game would see United beat both Manchester City and Arsenal to the signature of the 28-year-old forward.

Press Association says a loan deal for a year has been agreed between the clubs. Monaco are understood to have been seeking a fee of £12 million (Dh72.3m) for a one-year loan deal for Falcao.

Falcao has scored 11 goals in 20 appearances for Monaco after joining from Atletico Madrid for a fee of around €50 million (Dh241.4m) last year.

Colombia international Falcao, who missed the World Cup after suffering a serious knee injury, had been linked with several top European clubs including Real Madrid.

Falcao will compete with regular strikers Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie for a place in Louis van Gaal’s new-look United side.

United are rebuilding after a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Premier League last season and have spent around £130m on new players, including a British-record £59.7m move for Angel di Maria from Real Madrid.

They have also offloaded a numbers of players, with Shinji Kagawa returning to former club Borussia Dortmund on Sunday and Javier Hernandez reported to be in talks over a loan move to Real Madrid.

Van Gaal is still waiting for his first competitive win as United manager, after two draws and a defeat in the league and a humiliating 4-0 loss to third-tier Milton Keynes Dons in the League Cup.

Falcao made his professional debut with Colombian second-tier side Lanceros Boyaca at the age of only 13 before joining Argentine giants River Plate in 2005.

After four years in Buenos Aires he signed for Porto, where he established himself as one of Europe’s most lethal marksmen, scoring 72 goals in 87 games.

He won the Portuguese Cup in his first season and helped Porto to a treble of league, cup and Europa League honours in 2011, scoring the only goal in the Europa League final against Braga.

A move to Atletico Madrid followed later that year and he won the Europa League again in his first season, scoring twice as Diego Simeone’s side overcame Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in the final.

Falcao joined Monaco from Atletico last year in a deal worth around 60 million euros, having scored 70 goals in 91 games during his time in Spain.

He scored nine goals in his first 17 league games with Monaco, but his debut season was curtailed in January when he sustained a knee ligament injury that forced him to miss the World Cup.