Gossip: Man Utd 'target Bale despite injuries', Mourinho 'wants Rose in January', Chelsea stadium cost 'tops £1bn'
It’s precarious on top of the world. Gareth Bale was up there once – winning Champions Leagues; scoring hat-tricks against Rayo Vallecano; sipping non-alcoholic cocktails with Luka Modric on sun-drenched Castilian roof terraces; taking Hal Robson-Kanu by the hand and showing him what a European Championship semi-final looks like.
But at some point the Welsh superstar slipped, and now he’s sliding down from that hallowed summit on his backside at increasing speed. Out of the World Cup; injured for 40 of Real Madrid’s last 60 matches and allegedly unwanted by Bernabeu chief Florentino Perez.
But even in his darkest moments Gareth can still take comfort in one heartwarming fact: Manchester United still want to buy him, and they always will.
The Express reports that Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho is “not giving up” on Bale despite his poor injury record and is set to make an £80m bid for the forward at the next available opportunity.
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The chance of this offer being accepted grows by the day, with Madrid’s “patience wearing thin” following Bale’s latest ailment – a thigh injury that is set to keep the 28-year-old out until the New Year.
Mourinho is reportedly “confident” in his abilities to get Bale back to his best, a senior United “source” telling the Express: “Jose prides himself at motivating injured players and making them feel they can run through brick walls.”
That doesn’t sound like the safest method of preventing Bale from getting injured again, to be fair.
Man Utd target Tottenham defender
United are also set to swoop for another left-footed man who has spent a lot of time injured recently, with the Sun claiming Mourinho is plotting a move for Tottenham’s Danny Rose.
The Portuguese is tipped to “step up his pursuit” of the England full-back, with another dubious Old Trafford “source” being wheeled out to state, “It is no secret that Jose likes Rose. He is looking to make a move for him in January when the window opens. It all depends on money at the end of the day.” Thanks for that, mysterious source man/woman.
Meanwhile, Mesut Ozil’s hard-working agent has been dealt a blow by the Standard’s report that rumours linking the German with Barcelona are wide of the mark. The Catalan giants are apparently “yet to approach” the Arsenal contract rebel, and maybe they never will.
Elsewhere, the bill for the construction of Chelsea’s new stadium has risen to more than £1 billion (Times), Galatasaray have entered the race to sign Man Utd midfielder Marouane Fellaini (Sun) and United will face competition from Napoli to sign 20-year-old Espanyol defender Aaron Martin (Sport). However, they should get a clear run if they want to sign 28-year-old Oxford United defender Aaron Martin instead.
