Bayern Munich look to be winning the race to sign unsettled Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.
The Dutchman, 30, has been repeatedly linked with Real Madrid, who have had a bid of about �12m turned down.
Bayern president Franz Beckenbauer is confident a deal will be struck for Van Nistelrooy, adding that they will offload Roy Makaay or Claudio Pizarro.
“We’re still Euros 5m (�3.4m) away from Manchester United’s valuation, but the chances are still high,” he said.
“But if it does work out, I could imagine us giving away Roy Makaay or Claudio Pizarro.”
Bayern have already spent �7.15m on Germany international Lukas Podolski from Cologne.
And with Makaay, Pizarro and Paraguay’s Roque Santa Cruz already on the club’s books, Van Nistelrooy’s arrival “would leave us with too many strikers”, according to Beckenbauer.
Paolo Guerrero was sold to Hamburg and Beckenbauer claims further departures to the north may be on the cards as their Bundesliga rivals are in the market for a striker, having failed to land Milan Baros or Patrick Kluivert.
“We could reach another deal with Hamburg,” he added.
Van Nistelrooy reported back to Manchester United for his first day of pre-season training despite speculation he would stay away with his future still unresolved.
He was joined by most of the United players who appeared at the World Cup, all of whom had been given extra time to recover from their summer exertions. Among them is South Korean midfielder Ji-Sung Park . Park , a member of the South Korea national team, was one of its key players and even made a memorable goal against France during their encounter at the World Cup.