Gareth Bale’s brilliant brace of goals for Real Madrid against Liverpool in Saturday’s Champions League final have put Manchester United on “transfer alert”, according to the Manchester Evening News.
The paper claims that the Old Trafford club are more determined than ever to try and prise the 28-year-old from the Bernabeu in the wake of his heroics in Kiev.
Speaking after his man-of-the-match performance, Bale made what many have interpreted as an ultimatum to Real’s coach Zinedine Zidane. He declared: “I need to be playing week in week out and that hasn’t happened this season for one reason or another.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
With Zidane refusing to give the Welshman any guarantee that he’ll be a regular starter next season, speculation is growing in Spain that Bale will be open to offers this summer. There are reports that the club is increasingly hopeful of signing Neymar from PSG.
Consequently, the Manchester Evening News believes that United are lining up an eye-watering bid for a player they first tried to sign in 2007 “when he was a teenager at Southampton”.
Scholes: I hope Bale move happens
Such a move would have Paul Scholes’s support. The former United midfielder told Sky Sports he thought the club should go all out to land Bale. “Every United fan would want him,” said Scholes. “Great ability, great talent, scores great goals. If it’s possible then, yes, great, I hope it happens.”
The broadcaster adds that Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, will shortly sit down with Real Madrid officials to decide his client’s future. But one thing is certain: he will not be returning to Tottenham because his wage demands and transfer fee make any deal “financially unfeasible” for his former club.
Villa star Grealish also linked
If United fail in their quest to sign Bale, they may make a move for Aston Villa ace Jack Grealish, according to The Sun. Although the 22-year-old isn’t a household name like the Real superstar, the paper says that Grealish is known for his “driving runs through midfield from deep-lying positions”.
The Guardian says that Villa’s failure to secure promotion to the Premier League this season could be the catalyst for Grealish’s exit. But the paper believes he’s more likely to move to a club such as West Brom, Stoke City or Swansea, than to United where he would struggle to get much game time at a period in his career when he needs to be playing week in, week out.
