Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale is on the verge of leaving the Bernabeu with manager Zinedine Zidane seemingly trying to force the Welsh international out of the club.
In the past, Manchester United would have been the leading candidate to snap up the player, but reports in the local media have suggested that the Red Devils have no interest in signing him.
If true, it marks a dramatic shift away from the club’s transfer policy of recent years. Calling it a “policy” may be stretching it but United’s attitude to signing players has been one of opportunism rather than a carefully thought out strategy.
The likes of Alexis Sanchez and Fred were snapped up from under Manchester City’s noses, as was Romelu Lukaku who was a Chelsea transfer target. It could be argued that even Paul Pogba was an opportunistic piece of business with no other side prepared to pay the £89m to recruit him.
For the most part, these signings were very much in the old “Galactico” mould which Real Madrid themselves, under the presidency of Florentino Perez, used to make regularly.
United’s recruitment of Bale would, therefore, tally with their recent record in the transfer market; to bring in a high profile player to fill a need in the squad.
As another blog post on this site argued last week, the right-wing is an area of weakness and the Welshman would have been seen as a solution in the past by the Manchester club.
However, United’s disinterest in the player does show the club are moving towards a more sensible transfer strategy. Bale has just turned 30, and with injuries having taken their toll, he has lost that yard of pace which was so important to his game.
With manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer keen on pace, demonstrated by the recruitment of Bale’s compatriot Daniel James, the move for the Real Madrid star wouldn’t make any sense from a footballing perspective.
A “Galactico” he may well still be, but United are now focused on signing players more in line with the club’s ethos. Younger, vibrant, attacking talent who want to learn and develop their game.
Although Bale’s career is far from finished, he isn’t what the club need at this time. United have been linked with Lille’s Nicolas Pepe in recent days, and the Ivorian would certainly be a better fit than Bale in Solskjaer’s new-look side.
Have the Red Devils moved past their own Galactico era as Real Madrid did? We shall see, but it seems they are at least beginning to learn from past mistakes by steering clear of Bale.
