Chelsea will go all out to sign Welsh wonder Gareth Bale from Real Madrid this summer.
According to Stamford Bridge sources, the Blues hierarchy have made the former Tottenham Hotspur hero their top transfer target.
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Jose Mourinho’s side look set to cruise to the Premier League title this season, but their latest Champions League campaign ended in disappointment, with PSG dumping them out in the round of 16.
Mourinho is hopeful that Bale will be able to lead Chelsea to European success, and the club have apparently set aside £65m to secure his signature.
While the Londoners are prepared to spend £65m if pushed hard, they are optimistic that £50m could be enough to bring Britain’s biggest star back to the capital.
Bale became the world’s most expensive footballer when he joined Real for a fee in the region £85m in August 2013, but his stock has lowered significantly this season.
He has fallen out of favour at the Bernabeu, with fans turning on him for apparent acts of on-field selfishness.
Despite being widely criticised by Real fans and the Spanish media, Bale’s statistics remain impressive.
The 25-year-old, who provided two assists for Cristiano Ronaldo in Real’s 9-1 win over Granada on Sunday, has scored 21 goals for club and country this term.
Bale is not short of admirers – Manchester United, Man City, Bayern Munich and PSG have all been credited with an interest in him, but Chelsea are determined to beat the competition by striking a deal early in the summer window.
Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, who have scored 12 and 19 goals respectively, are the only two Chelsea players to reach double figures in the Premier League this season.
Bale would almost certainly add goals to Mourinho’s attack – he struck 21 times in the league in his final season at Spurs in 2012-13, and he bagged 15 in La Liga last term.