Bundesliga outfit Hamburg have joined the race to sign in-demand striker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The Dutch star is currently on the fringes of the first-team at Real Madrid and he is looking to move, in order to seal his place in Holland's World Cup finals squad.

Tottenham, West Ham and Stoke have all been strongly linked with the former Manchester United striker.

But Hamburg hope to land the 33-year-old marksman, amid speculation that the Dutchman does not want a move back to Britain.

"We have the desire to sign one more striker, but we are just going out to do so if such a deal makes sense," Hamburg chief Bruno Labbadia said.

"I am not a fan of winter deals, many of those players need too much time to settle. Though, it needs to be a player who does not take that long to feel home."

Current Real team-mate and former Hamburg player Rafael van der Vaart insists van Nistelrooy is still world-class.

It's a fact that Ruud still belongs to the very best strikers in the European game, there should not be any doubt about this," van der Vaart told Bild.

"He is a world-class hit-man."