MY ACCOUNT
Gareth Bale could well be playing Premier League football next season with FOUR top-flight clubs chasing the Welsh wizard.
Bale, 32, is currently a free agent after his Real Madrid contract expired earlier this month, ending a nine-year stay with the LaLiga giants.
He is desperate to play regular football between now and November before leading his nation at their first World Cup appearance in 64 years.
A shock move to hometown club Cardiff has been touted in recent months, though it is questionable whether Championship football offers the best preparation for a major tournament.
Now, the Sun report that Tottenham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are all ready to table offers for the five-time Champions League winner.
Former club Spurs are wasting little time with their transfer business this summer having already captured former Southampton stopper Fraser Forster and Ivan Perisic from Inter Milan.
More incomings are expected imminently and while their interest in Bale was initially thought to have cooled, director of football Fabio Paratici is reportedly monitoring his situation again.
Should he opt against a third spell in North London, the ambitious duo of Villa and Newcastle are appealing alternatives.
Steven Gerrard has already set about improving Villa’s fortunes with some astute transfer business, while the cash-rich Magpies have lofty expectations for the 2022-23 campaign.
If the 106-cap international wants a real challenge, joining newly-promoted Forest is another alternative.
Steve Cooper led the Midlands outfit back to the Premier League for the first time since 1999 and adding someone of Bale’s pedigree to their ranks would deliver a huge boost to their survival prospects.
In other news
Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips has told officials at Elland Road that he is ready to leave his boyhood club to join Manchester City, according to Football Insider.
Inter Milan have opened discussions with Chelsea over bringing Romelu Lukaku back to Italy on loan report the Telegraph, though the Belgian will need to take a wage cut to make a move happen.
Portuguese outlet A Bola say Manchester United are leading the race to sign Porto’s £34million-rated midfielder Vitinha.
