Former Colombia coach Francisco Maturana has backed Louis van Gaal's decision to leave striker Radamel Falcao out of the squad.

The on-loan Monaco forward is failing to live up to his reputation as one of the world's most clinical strikers, as he struggles to cement his place in the starting XI.

Manchester United manager Van Gaal even dropped the Colombian forward to the Under-21 squad to play Tottenham Hotspur and further limited his first-team action, a decision that Maturana agrees with.

"I would do the same thing Van Gaal has with Falcao. They need to put out on the pitch the best team possible and if Falcao isn't at his best, it's better to play with other strikers," the 66-year-old told Goal.com.

"It's difficult for a coach to have a new injured player in the team, besides he has two great strikers in [Wayne] Rooney and [Robin] Van Persie. As coach, I would not be able to say to them that they can't play just to give the chance to the other new player.

"Van Gaal is a responsible coach. If Falcao is not ready to play, he should not play, despite the fact it hurts the Colombian hearts."

Falcao is being linked with a move to Serie A, as Juventus are reportedly keen on bringing in the former Porto striker.