Simeone Eyes Chicharito Swoop

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has talked up the idea of bringing Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez to the Vicente Calderon.

The Mexican struggled for playing time at Old Trafford last season and appears to be fourth in the pecking order behind Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck under Louis van Gaal.

Despite the arrivals of Mario Mandzukic and Antoine Griezmann, the La Liga champions are in the market to bring in another forward after losing Diego Costa and David Villa.

Simeone is aware strengthening his squad is imperative if his side are to once again mount a challenge to Real Madrid and Barcelona, and he confirmed he is a big admirer of United’s prolific forward.

"We speak to the sporting directors, we gave them the ideas on the type of players we want and then they get the players," the Argentine said.

"With Javier Hernandez and plenty of other great players, anything is possible. We can't close the door to anyone until the transfer window closes.

"He is a vertical player, great in one-on-one situations, he's a great option for any team."

The 26-year-old started just six Premier League games last season, scoring four goals, after scoring double figures in the league in each of his previous three campaigns under Sir Alex Ferguson.

With van Gaal calling the squad he inherited from David Moyes ‘unbalanced’ and ‘broken’ he may be willing to let Hernandez go as he looks to add players in other positions.

Young English forward Will Keane is highly regarded at Old Trafford and van Gaal is grooming Wilfried Zaha to play as a striker in the 3-5-2 formation he is adopting.

Hernandez was a second-half substitute in United’s match against Inter Milan on Tuesday night and scored from the spot as van Gaal’s side won 5-3 on penalties following a 0-0 stalemate.