Real Madrid will reportedly allow Gareth Bale to leave to Manchester United only if they receive David De Gea in exchange
According to a report by Don Balon, Florentino Perez is willing to part ways with Gareth Bale in order to lure David De Gea from Manchester United. The Spanish goalkeeper has been a target for Real over the last two years as deals failed to materialize. This summer though, Perez seems determined to sign De Gea before the window ends.
Manchester United endured a tumultuous campaign in the Premier League last season, which almost made it seems like De Gea could be seeking an exit for greener pastures as the Red Devils looked like they might miss out on qualifying to the Champions League.
Although United finished sixth in the league, they still managed to win the Europa League by beating Ajax in the final, thus bringing about an end to their Champions League woes. De Gea did not feature in that game but it was expected that the result might propel him towards staying with the club.
De Gea has been a solid part of the United team since the times of Sir Alex Ferguson. A lot has changed over the course of the last few years – managers came and went, players came and went – but the club’s dependency and requirement for De Gea remains the same.
However, Real have been linked with De Gea for a really long time now. While Manchester United may not want to let him leave, it is understood that the ‘flying Spaniard’ is open to a move to join Madrid. If he leaves, Jose Mourinho will be left in a tough spot since he will need to secure a first-team goalkeeper pronto.
Either that, or he will have to rely on deputy goalkeeper Sergio Romero to take up the massive responsibility. Romero impressed in a couple of European matches last season, but it remains to be seen if he is ready to play regularly in the Premier League.
However, United may not be as keen about signing Gareth Bale as they were a couple of months back. Mourinho has a wealth of attacking options at his disposal currently, with the likes of Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Anthony Martial, Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard to choose from.
Despite earlier rumours of him leaving this summer, Martial has been quite impressive in the pre-season games which has led to speculation that the attacker will stay back at Old Trafford.
Thus, Mourinho does not really need Bale in the squad. It will be a solid addition to provide the Portuguese boss with options and alternatives but it might not be necessary as such. If the deal goes through, Bale can play on the right side of the United attack, and can be a deadly hurdle for opposition defenders.
As things stand, it seems unlikely that United will be willing to let go of David De Gea for Gareth Bale simply because the Spaniard has become an indispensable member of the squad and is likely to continue to be so.
