Manchester City have moved into the favorites slot to sign Radamel Falcao in January, a few days after Chelsea were reported to have already had a pre-contract agreement in place for the highly-rated Atletico Madrid striker.
In what looks like a race that is not going to end anytime soon, an exclusive in Goal.com, says Man City have gone up in the line for Falcao.
According to the report, City had already made contact in the summer, but were unable to bring the striker to the Etihad after failing to offload Edin Dzeko or Carlos Tevez.
With Tevez showing stellar early season form, Roberto Mancini was reluctant to let go of the Argentine striker, while a move for Dzeko to either Juventus or AC Milan failed to materialize.
City are apparently ready to meet the €60 million (£47 million, $74.7 million) buyout clause in January, to make Falcao the marquee signing in the next transfer window.
This report comes along before the striker's father stated his desire to play for Chelsea as well as Real Madrid, who according to the father, is his dream team.
"His dream is to one day play for Real Madrid," father Radamel told Colombian radio programme El Gran Debate de Todelar. "Always, since childhood, he has wanted to play there.
"Other international football teams like Manchester City and Chelsea have been interested in him. If he cannot go to Madrid, then he would go to English football, the deal depends on the clubs in question.
"He will change his team at the end of the season."
This statement comes days after Radamel claimed his son wanted to play for Chelsea, a club that the striker has supported for a long time; on the back of reports suggesting a deal had already been agreed between Atletico and the European champions.
It would seem like Falcao's agents and representatives are looking to find the highest bidder for the striker, when he is at the peak of his powers. Falcao just dismantled the Chelsea defense in the UEFA Super Cup last Friday, and has started the season extremely well.
While it can be argued that the chances of City signing the striker are smaller than it would have been a year ago - seeing as how the English Premier League champions are looking to clamp down on their spending to adhere to the Financial Fair Play rules, a bid just to make a statement and turn the team into a bigger powerhouse cannot be ruled out.
Chelsea have just spent big money this summer in bringing in the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and more to Stamford Bridge, but with just Fernando Torres the only recognized center forward in their line up, the need for Falcao might be more for the London club than City, who have the quartet of Sergio Aguero, incidentally bought from Atletico, Tevez, Dzeko and Mario Balotelli.
Unless they can offload one of their strikers in January, a move for the Colombian striker is unlikely. Real Madrid have not stated their interest in Falcao as yet, and with Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema already in their ranks, the need for Falcao is debatable; although the uncertainty surrounding the future of Cristiano Ronaldo might change their minds.
Interestingly, Falcao took to Twitter to announce his commitment to Atletico. "So that everybody is clear: My dream is to keep on winning things with Atletico Madrid and help Colombia to get a place in World Cup 2014," he wrote on his Twitter account.
While that statement looks like he is committed to stay with Atletico this year, it can mean Falcao might be open to a move to a bigger club in the summer.
No doubts there will be more twists and turns as the some of the biggest spenders in Europe battle it out for the in-form striker -- who might or might not be available.