Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale is set to spurn interest from Manchester United in the summer transfer window.
According to the Independent, the Premier League giants were readying a £95m bid for the former Tottenham Hotspur winger, as Louis van Gaal appears eager to add to his new signings of Memphis Depay, Matteo Darmian, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin [via Sky Sports].
However, Spanish football expert Gerry Armstrong believes that the Wales international has no desire to depart the Santiago Bernabeu – despite an unsettling second campaign in Madrid – as he is itching to silence his critics from last season:
“After a great first year at the Bernabeu he was brought down to earth with a bit of a bump in the second. But I hear he is not leaving Spain despite interest and a rumoured £95m bid from Manchester United,” as quoted by the Daily Star.
“Not only will Real not sell him, as he is clearly one of the club’s biggest stars, Gareth is also desperate to prove himself once more to the fans.
“He doesn’t want to be remembered for last season. He wants to go out and show he is still the star player Real Madrid paid all that money for.”
It therefore seems that Bale is not the ‘surprise’ forward that van Gaal suggested to be locked in discussions with [via The Guardian] – which keeps this mystery the subject of intense speculation.
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While a move for Bale may prove a task too difficult for United, his Los Blancos team-mate Sergio Ramos still remains on the Premier League giants’ radar.
Van Gaal refused to rule out the possibility of the Spain international walking out at the Theatre of Dreams next season; cryptically describing their interest as a transfer ‘process’:
“I have said in a lot of press conferences that it’s a process. Maybe Mr. Ramos is in the process – you never know,” as quoted by the Independent.
However, it appears that any deal with Ramos hinges on the future of David De Gea – who has been heavily linked with a return to the Spanish capital over the past few months. According to BBC Sport, United are prepared to force the former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper to see out the final year of his Old Trafford contract, unless Real accept a proposed swap deal involving Ramos.