It’s another summer transfer window and Manchester United are being linked with everybody on the planet but it still has been a disappointing transfer window for them as only Donny van De Beek has been signed till now and the window slams shut in about a week. Like all transfer windows, Gareth Bale has been linked with a move away from the Los Blancos with him not being wanted there and his unwillingness to play for them. Bale has been linked with United ever-since he emerged on the scene as a young and promising left-back at White Hart Lane. We take a look at whether or not going for him this window would be a good idea.
AN ALTERNATIVE TO SANCHO?
Manchester United’s principal target Jadon Sancho was supposed to be the player to compete our attack as we lacked a specialist right-winger (No offence but Mason Greenwood is a striker not a right winger). However Dortmund played hardball and Ed Woodward failed again to land the former Manchester City youngster as he refused to pay what Dortmund deemed a non-negotiable sum. Gareth Bale has emerged as a likely alternative to the young Englishman.
Gareth Bale has found game-time hard to come by after Zinedine Zidane took over as the Los Blancos manager. Zidane has been very vocal about their relationship and he has wanted him out. However Bale’s massive wages always has been a deal breaker as there are very few clubs that could afford those. Add that to a massive transfer fee, it would be next to impossible for any club to afford him. Once the world’s most expensive signing, Bale impressed a lot in his initial years at the Bernabeu but injuries took their toll and when Zidane came for his first spell, he suddenly didn’t fit into the system and he used to be dropped many times in favour of Isco. Right now, he is what Alexis Sanchez used to be to United – an unwanted , always injured figure who doesn’t get game time and actually doesn’t want to play for the club as highlighted by the ‘Wales, Golf , Madrid’ shenanigans and him willing to get a fat paycheck even if he isn’t paying(he’s living the dream actually – getting paid nearly £600,000 per week to just show up at training sessions and spend rest of the time playing golf.
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| Gareth Bale celebrates with a Wales.Golf.Madrid in that order flag.. [Img src : The Guardian] |
SHOULD WE SIGN HIM??
I’m going to go with no on this one. Don’t get me wrong, Gareth Bale is one of my favourite players but I just don’t see him fitting in at Manchester United now. If this question was asked 3 years ago , there would be no hesitation. He was in his prime and could tear any defense to pieces on his own but he isn’t the player he was. He is 31 years old now and a permanent deal will raise a lot of eyebrows. He hasn’t played that much over the past two years and that may be a problem as well. However if we fail to land Jadon Sancho, a loan move will probably be in the best interests of all concerned parties because United will have no concrete obligations to him in our squad and if he is absolutely amazing then a permanent deal could be on the table. He would strengthen our attack a lot and would be extremely useful. But if you ask any Manchester United fan right now on who they would prefer, the unanimous answer would be Jadon Sancho.
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| Could it finally happen this year?? |
A loan deal would involve Real Madrid paying half his wages and it is a chance that we should be willing to take as it is an almost no-risk deal for us. However the fact that we are looking at Gareth Bale at this stage of the window highlights the failure of Ed Woodward as a negotiator and the Glazers as owners. Their inability to negotiate highlights why we need a director of football making football related decisions and keep Ed Woodward mainly on the executive side of things. A DoF will go a long way in helping us select targets and acquiring him. The perfect fit would be Edwin van Der Sar but it will probably not be possible to prize him away from Ajax.
Signing Bale however will not be that easy with Totenham also interested in a loan deal and Jose Mourinho publicly stating his admiration of the Welshman and how he tried to sign him in the past. A return to Spurs would probably be in Gareth Bale’s mind as he has not lost admiration for the club that gave him his big break. If we are to sign Bale on loan or any deal whatsoever, Ed Woodward needs to pull some punches and it would be a public embarrassment if we are not able to land any of our targets for the RW position (to say nothing of Totenham now in the race to sign Reguilon). This would be extremely undermining to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he pulled off a miracle by getting us to finish 3rd in the Premier League last season. And with no investments being made as opposed to other clubs spending freely, it will be extremely hard to replicate a top 4 finish and this time the liability is going to be on the owners and Woodward if we fail to do so.
To conclude I would like to say that our top priority needs to be Jadon Sancho. Gareth Bale needs t be signed only as a last resort just because we lack depth in the area. Many people believe that if we don’t get Sancho we could give opportunities to youngsters like Anthony Elanga but that would stretch it too much as Champions League football is difficult and Gareth Bale is a proven winner in that competition. What do you think about a potential loan deal? Comment below.
