Chelsea prepare to raid Real Madrid for £85m Gareth Bale

Blues want to bring Bale back to London as Man U join Arsenal and Liverpool in Cabaye chase

Real Madrid's Gareth Bale celebrates
(Image credit: Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

Chelsea are "ready to raid" Real Madrid in a bold bid to bring Gareth Bale back to England. According to the Daily Express, the Blues are eyeing up the Welsh wingman just 15 months after he left White Hart Lane for the bright lights of the Bernabeu.

Since that record £85m deal, Bale has scored 28 goals in 58 appearances and was a member of the Real squad that lifted the Champions League last season. But the Express claims that that Bale's place in the starting line-up is no longer guaranteed what with the rise of Isco, and as a result he might be offloaded next summer – provided Chelsea cough up enough cash.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Bill Mann is a football correspondent for The Week.co.uk, scouring the world's football press daily for the popular Transfer Talk column.