Manchester United seem determined to spend crazy money in 2016.
Since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson the club have been linked with signing Neymar from Barcelona or Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale from Real Madrid to boost the club’s flagging attacking fortunes and give Ed Woodward the marquee purchase he so clearly craves. .
There have been rumours that Bale is unsettled in Madrid, with the usual British man abroad complaints that his family have failed to settle and the discovery that everyone is speaking a different language said to be at the heart of his discontent.
Curiously, following the sacking of Rafa Benitez earlier this week Bale is said to have sought assurances that new head coach Zinedine Zidane will continue to play him centrally, just as the former Liverpool manager had been doing in recent weeks.
Those assurances were forthcoming but it seems that Old Trafford may have a trump card up their sleeves, or long warm winter coats, to try and secure the services of the former Tottenham man.
According to the Daily Mail today, Bale is a big fan of former Wales legend, and current club number two, Ryan Giggs, and that could be the secret ingredient to helping the winger to acclimatise to life in Manchester.
Wednesday's Daily Mail back page:
Get Bale NOW#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers #mufc pic.twitter.com/rVvIAFcEA6— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) January 5, 2016
The club are preparing a £75million bid for the midfielder, with reports suggesting an initial approach could be made this month to Real Madrid.
Giggs is, of course, a boyhood hero of Bale’s from his own exploits in a Wales jersey, and the 26-year-old is understood to be keen to work with the man with the most legendary chest hair in football.
He still has three years left on his contract, however, and may be reluctant to move or disrupt any preparation to Wales’ first international tournament in several generations, this summer.
