Manchester United Transfer Rumors 2017: Red Devils Still Looking to Bring Gareth Bale to Old Trafford
Manchester United have been keeping an eye on Gareth Bale for some time now, but talks about him possibly joining the club have been picking up in the past few days.
Reports have previously indicated that United would wait until next summer to pursue Bale. However, Marca has claimed that Real Madrid have alerted the Red Devils they were prepared to cut him loose so they could sign Monaco's Kylian Mbappé.
According to the report, Real Madrid are asking €100 million (around £90 million) in return for the Welsh winger and they have allegedly started probing the Premier League market for interested clubs. Bale has been on United's radar and Chelsea are reportedly interested as well, per Marca.
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Spanish news outlet Don Balón has also reported that Red Devils manager José Mourinho believes he can sign Bale for less than €100 million since Real Madrid are looking to unload him to help fund Mbappé's transfer. However, he's willing to pay the full price if Real Madrid demand it.
Bale has previously talked about how he wants to stay put and win more trophies with Los Blancos, but he understands that he's in a precarious situation because of his fitness issues in the past few seasons.
Meanwhile, in contrast to the reports from Spain, the Guardian has reported that Real Madrid have decided to postpone their plan to sign Mbappé until next summer and they are keeping Bale instead.
"Real have a firm interest in Mbappé but have informed Bale they are unlikely to attempt to buy the 18-year-old striker in the near future," Jamie Jackson said in his report for the Guardian.
Jackson added that United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward will continue to monitor the situation, but if Real Madrid halt their pursuit of Mbappé, the Red Devils may have no other choice but to wait until next summer as well for Bale.
