Danny Higginbotham does not expect Manchester United to take up their option of signing Radamel Falcao on a permanent basis.

The Colombian arrived at Old Trafford from Monaco on a season-long loan deal last summer, with a reported clause inserted that permitted the Red Devils to secure his services for £43m.

However, Falcao has struggled to replicate the clinical form that he had previously shown for the likes of Porto and Atletico Madrid, having scored just four goals in all competitions.

There are those that believe that the 29-year-old has struggled to fully recover from the cruciate knee ligament injury that he suffered in January 2014 and, having suffered the same complaint himself during his career, Higginbotham believes that Falcao has tried to alter his playing style in the Premier League.

"Sometimes you can come back from those injuries and never get your pace back, or sometimes it takes time," the former United defender told Sports Mole.

"What you're seeing now from Falcao, I think he understands and appreciates his body the way that it is. He's not trying to be the player that he was before because he knows that whether it's at this moment, or whether it be full stop, he hasn't got that yard.

"He's in a transitional period. He seems to be trying to change from that electrical-paced player that played on the shoulder and got behind the centre-backs, to someone that has lost that yard and wants to drop deeper."

With regards to a potential stay beyond the end of the current campaign, Higginbotham does not expect manager Louis van Gaal to sanction the deal, particularly because there is no room in the United attack for the type of striker that Falcao has become.

"What you're seeing with Falcao is that he is wanting to be that centre-forward that drops off and comes deep. That would be okay if Man United had a player like he used to be - the one that has the pace to get in behind. Wayne Rooney is one of the best at dropping deep and creating space in behind for runners," he added.

"When you play Rooney and Falcao together like they have at times this season, they both drop deep. You had Ashley Young cutting inside from the left and Angel di Maria cutting inside from the right and it was all too congested. That's the problem Falcao is having.

"The Falcao that everybody knew was one of the best in the world. You hope, for him, that he gets back to being that player, but it's a big risk to take and big lot of money for United to spend. As a striker you're merited on goals and he hasn't scored enough this season."

A host of clubs have been linked with Falcao of late, including Liverpool, Juventus and River Plate.

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