Atletico Madrid have become the frontrunners to sign Manchester United's Mexican striker Javier Hernandez, who has found first-team opportunities hard to come by in the past 12 months. The super sub had recently voiced concerns about his future, saying that he wanted to play first-team football whether it was at United or elsewhere, at Atletico have admitted that they are interested in signing the 26-year-old, who could be on his way to Spain soon.
It is unclear as to whether Hernandez is in van Gaal's plans for this upcoming season, but his market value is between £15 and £20million pounds which is a transfer fee that Atletico will not hesitate to pay for a proven player who scored 20 goals in his debut season in the Premier League, back in the 2010-11 campaign.
Hernandez is a great under-rated player, that has helped United out many times and not got a lot of credit for that - his pace and good dribbling helps to beat defenders at will, and he is clinical in-front of goal. Scoring 59 goals in 152 appearances (albeit many were cameos and not the full 90 minutes) is a testament to that, for a player that will be sorely missed in the Premier League if he does in-fact leave.
Atletico will be eager to announce some quality signings this summer, as they look to challenge Barcelona and Real Madrid for the title again next season - having won it last year they will be reluctant to go down without a fight. They have already spent around £35million pounds to sign Bayern Munich striker Mario Mandzukic and Real Sociedad winger Antoine Griezmann, both players adding strength and quality to a weakened Atletico side who have been forced to let go the likes of Diego Costa and Filipe Luis to Chelsea.
Atletico manager Diego Simeone had this to say about Hernandez: "He's a vertical player, he's great in one-on-one situations and he's someone who could be useful to any team.
We are speaking to the sporting directors about the type of player we want and then it's up to them to bring the player in. With Javier Hernandez and lots of other great players, anything is possible. We can't close any door until the transfer window shuts."