AS Monaco striker Radamel Falcao appears to be closing in on a transfer to Real Madrid, if reports in Spain and France are correct.

Just last weekend, the Spanish newspaper AS reported that Real Madrid were in talks with Monaco over a potential move for the Colombian international.

According to the publication, Real Madrid’s proposal is for Monaco to loan them Falcao for roughly £10 million (Atletico Madrid sold Falcao for close to £40 million, payable in four installments of £10 million) and Los Blancos would also pay the player’s salary (Falcao earns £11 million annually).

Once the loan period ended, If Madrid wanted to keep the striker, they would have an option to pay £26 million more to the Ligue 1 club in order to complete the transfer.

Now, the French newspaper L’Equipe has taken the story further by stating a deal for the striker is at a “very advanced stage”.

The only thing holding the transfer up is that the Copa del Rey and Champions League winners want to evaluate Falcao’s fitness, since the striker hasn’t played a competitive match in over six months.

The Colombian scoring machine has been on the sidelines since suffering anterior cruciate ligament damage last season during a match against Chasselay in the French Cup.

Word is that Falcao will see some time this weekend when Monaco play in the Emirates Cup.

It is believed that Madrid have sent representatives to London this weekend to monitor the player’s fitness because they want to verify that he is in top condition before finalizing any move.

Last Sunday, before Madrid’s International Champions Cup match against AS Roma, Carlo Ancelotti was asked if he needed another striker. He responded by saying he was happy with the options at his disposal.

“I think that in this team we have Benzema who is very reliable and we can also play other players there. Isco can be a false nine; it’s not so important to have a centre-forward to score a lot of goals, but rather a player to play Bale or Cristiano in. We’re not going to look for another forward because we don’t need one,” Ancelotti stated.

But it appears those sentiments have fallen on deaf ears within the club, because Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is continuing to stockpile players in the Spanish capital.

Ancelotti has also stated that he was happy with his choices in goal, but news in Spain is Perez has already agreed a deal to bring in Costa Rican international Keylor Navas; thus showing Diego Lopez the exit door.

It’s curious to note that if Lopez does leave, one of the clubs rumored to be interested in his services is Monaco. It’s possible that Florentino Perez intends to include the goalkeeper as part of any potential deal for Falcao.

The president and Falcao’s agent, Jorge Mendes, also have a history of completing deals together. Numerous current and former Real Madrid players are represented by the agent.

In 2012, former Real Madrid president Ramon Claderon commented on Mendes saying the agent was “now the club president, without having been elected by the board, [Real Madrid] is in his hands.”

Any news on potential comings and goings at Real Madrid will likely be cleared up after their International Champions Cup encounter against Manchester United today and before their Super Cup match vs Sevilla on August 12.