Radamel Falcao is concerned over his future at Manchester United after being dropped for defeat on Sunday to Southampton. The Daily Mail says it is understood that Falcao and manager Louis van Gaal did talk at training at Carrington on Monday, with the Dutch coach telling the striker that the decision was made purely for tactical reasons.

But Falcao increasingly wonders if he will ever manage to truly impress Van Gaal as he looks to persuade United to turn a one-year loan deal in to a permanent £43million transfer from Monaco in the summer.

Falcao has been doing voluntary extra training at United after recovering from a calf injury that interrupted his progress in late autumn and is trying to turn himself in to a more rounded forward in the mould of captain Wayne Rooney.

Despite this, the Colombian international believes that he sometimes has to do twice as much as other players to convince Van Gaal of his worth and was particularly bemused in late November to hear his manager say repeatedly that he had to get fully match fit before he could return to the team.