Bringing Bale back
> Madrid ready to negotiate with United over Welshman’s summer transfer
ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger has insisted that the club will retain Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil this summer despite reports linking the pair with a move away from the Emirates.
After Wenger signed a new two-year contract at Arsenal on Wednesday attention now turns to Sanchez and Ozil whose future remains in question.
Both players have just one year left on their contracts, with the Chilean attracting strong interest from the likes of Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Manchester City.
Wenger has said in the past he is confident both players want to stay at the club, and has ruled out selling either. Instead, the Frenchman made it clear he would rather keep the pair for the final year of their current contracts and risk them leaving on a free transfer in one year’s time.
And the long-time manager reiterated his stance again on Friday, telling beIN Sports: “This summer, first of all they will stay at the club and hopefully we can extend their contract.”
When asked if either would leave, Wenger added: “I believe, at the moment, we’re not on that front. We’re focused on keeping the team together and to see how we can strengthen the team.
“When you sign a contract somewhere, you commit to give your best until the end of the last day of that contract. I would say ‘ why should they not give their best?’
“The interest of any player is always to play football and well, even more so at the end of your contact. If you’re a winner, you want to win the game you’re playing.” – The Independent
REAL MADRID are open to negotiating with Manchester United over a possible Gareth Bale transfer this summer, as they seek to free funds and space in their squad to sign one of Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe or Chelsea’s Eden Hazard.
While Real president Florentino Perez remains a huge fan of Bale, having pushed for what was then a world-record £86 million (RM472.92m) signing from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013, the run to the Champions League final has seen Spanish playmaker Isco leap ahead of the injured Welsh star and fostered discussion about how Zinedine Zidane’s team is more cohesive without him.
That has led to influential members of the Bernabeu boardroom arguing that Bale could well be the high-profile player to leave this summer, if they do want to follow their usual policy of signing a Galactico.
Sources in Spain and Manchester have said that Real are thereby willing to listen to offers from United, and that the subject has already been broached between the two clubs.
The Old Trafford club are meanwhile intent on signing another “marquee name” this summer, and have been forced to look elsewhere now that Antoine Griezmann has confirmed he is staying at Atletico Madrid for at least another season.
United’s interest in Bale long predates their pursuit of Griezmann, having tried to sign the Welsh international when he first moved to Madrid in 2013, and it now looks like an opportunity may present itself.
For his part, Bale is known to have told colleagues that Old AS Trafford is one of the very few destinations he would leave Real Madrid for. Any transfer could therefore be convenient to all parties. Despite that, Bale is unlikely to come cheap, and Real would still insist on a fee of around £100 million (RM549m) while also using the situation to leverage their pursuit of David De Gea. United have so far been resolute in their refusal to even countenance the sale of the goalkeeper, since they simply do not need the money or to negotiate, although some sources feel a swap deal could yet be possible. The Old Trafford hierarchy have meanwhile made initial enquiries about signing Romelu Lukaku, although Everton have set a price of £90 million (RM494m). – The Independent