Manchester United are in talks to sign £25million Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres.

United will use money from the sale of Ruud van Nistelrooy to fund their bid for Spain star Torres with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Newcastle all expressing an interest in the Dutchman, with the Bernabeu looking his most likely destination, with director of football Pedrag Mijatovic reportedly in Manchester to finalise a £15million deal.

A host of clubs are said to be keen on the 22-year-old Torres but reports suggest that Sir Alex Ferguson is the first manager to firm up his interest and heads the list to land the player.

It could be a busy few weeks at Old Trafford with Ferguson admitting he is considering a raid on the Italian transfer market following the match-fixing scandal.

Fabio Cannavaro, Luca Toni, Patrick Vieira, Lilian Thuram, David Trezeguet and Pavel Nedved have all been linked.

And Ferguson admitted: "The Italian situation is something we are addressing."