Roman Abramovich has given the green light for Chelsea to offer £46m for Radamel Falcao in January, reports the Daily Mail.

The Chelsea owner has chosen the Columbia forward as the next superstar he wants to arrive at Stamford Bridge and is willing to break the bank to secure his signature.

Falcao has been in tremendous form for Atletico Madrid and after scoring an impressive 24 times last season, has already found the net eight times this campaign. The prolific striker was extensively scouted by former Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas and has remained on the radar since.

The Blues are confident of sorting out personal terms for the striker but a major obstacle in bringing him to London remains his asking price. He has a release clause of £46m in his contract and Madrid are determined not to lose him for anything less than that.

The 26-year-old striker demonstrated what the Blues were missing when he tore Chelsea’s defence apart with a hat-trick in Atletico’s 4-1 demolition of the Champions League holders during the European Super Cup in August.

After failing to replace Didier Drogba in the summer Roberto Di Matteo will be keen to snare the world-class forward during the January transfer window. The European champions have already spent around £60m this summer on the likes of Eden Hazard, Oscar and Victor Moses but despite leading the division look likely to spend again.

However, they could face intense competition from Premier League champions Manchester City with City manager Roberto Mancini a well-known admirer of the centre-forward.