Manchester United decide against signing Radamel Falcao on permanent deal

The Colombian forward has scored four goals in 20 outings for Louis van Gaal's side, but LVG is seeking to sign a man capable of hitting 20 goals a season.

United had an option to activate a £40m buy-out clause having paid almost £6 million for the season-long loan. Falcao is on around £265,000 a week during his season in the Premier League.

According to French sports newspaper L'Equipe, United decided against pursuing the Falcao signing when he toiled against Preston in the FA Cup as United fought back to win 3-1 last month.

Falcao only lasted an hour before being substituted as United progressed to the last eight.

"He has to prove himself, that we have agreed. We have made this deal and everything is clear and it is not the end of the year (the duration of his loan spell) so he has the chance for that," said Van Gaal in January.

"For the manager it is the quality of the training sessions, the quality in his performances and matches and he has to compare (favourably).

"A player of £95m has to prove himself also. Maybe he has less motivation so I have to be like that."

Valencia have been linked to the Colombian forward, who has failed to recover his old scoring form since a knee injury prevented him from playing at the World Cup finals.

However, Press Association Sport and the BBC subsequently claimed that L'Equipe's report is not correct, saying that it is understood Van Gaal will wait until May before deciding whether he wants to make the loan move for the 29-year-old permanent.

Despite a slow start, the Old Trafford hierarchy insisted at the turn of the year that Falcao would come good.

Senior sources were said to be impressed by Falcao's work ethic, which they compared to that of world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, who enjoyed six successful years at Old Trafford before moving to his current club Real Madrid.

It has become increasingly obvious that United weren't going to pursue a permanent deal for Falcao, and the report coming from a highly-respected source such as L'Equipe now makes his exit seem inevitable. The Colombian simply has not done enough to justify the club shelling out £40 million to complete the deal.

As an out-and-out striker, he doesn't fit into the system Van Gaal is trying to play at United. It remains to be seen where he will end up next season, but his failure at United makes you think that the loan deal for the former Atletico Madrid striker was a panic signing on the final day of the transfer window last summer.

There won't be too many United fans shedding a tear for Falcao when he goes, but the same could be said for Van Gaal if he fails to sort out the style and attacking instincts of this United side.

As for the club's denial - disseminated via leaks through the BBC and Press Association - that they have made a decision? Well, you can discount that as mere bleating.

Of course, if Falcao scores 20 goals in the last 10 matches of the season, everything will change. But that level of miracle is all that could save him now - and given that big-money signings for international-calibre strikers take months to set up, United will already be ploughing ahead with their plans for a Falcao-less future.