After Neymar and Thomas Muller hogged the headlines for a while, the Gareth Bale to Manchester United transfer story is up and running again, as the summer transfer window heads into its final few days.
Bale has been linked with a move to Manchester United all summer, with reports even suggesting Real Madrid have turned down a couple of world record bids for the Welshman.
Florentino Perez, the Real Madrid president, who beat Manchester United to the signing of Bale a couple of summer ago, is a big fan of the former Tottenham forward, and wants to see the 26-year-old eventually become the main man at the Bernabeu.
However, with Real Madrid still looking to seal the deal that will bring David De Gea back to Spain, Manchester United remain hopeful of agreeing a deal that will see Bale move the other way, according to ESPN FC.
De Gea's future has remained unresolved all summer, with Louis Van Gaal deciding against selecting the goalkeeper until the end of the transfer window after the Spain international had his head turned by the interest from Real Madrid.
It is clear De Gea wants to sign for Manchester United this summer, but Manchester United have held firm in their demand for a hefty fee, despite the 24-year-old having less than a year remaining on his current contract.
Manchester United are ready to let De Gea leave on a free transfer rather than agree to a cut-price move with Real Madrid, but the English Premier League club remain open to a deal that might allow them a crack at Bale – of course that will mean De Gea and plenty of cash going to Real Madrid with Bale moving the other way, but as Manchester United have shown with their bids this summer, money is not the issue.
While the most likely club for Bale to move to, if he does return to the Premier League, is Manchester United, it still is highly unlikely that the Wales international will consider a move away from the Bernabeu.
The player and his agent have denied rumours of a move back to England quite a few times already this summer, and Louis Van Gaal and Ed Woodward will have to show some serious persuasion powers if they are to convince Bale his future is best served at Old Trafford.
However, stranger things have happened in previous transfer windows, and expect this transfer story to run all the way till deadline day next Tuesday.
