Gareth Bale considers Manchester United switch

Manchester United have been linked with a number of alternative targets to Jadon Sancho, and one option is Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale.

United have reportedly abandoned their interest in Sancho for now, with Borussia Dortmund’s asking price of around £108 million prohibitively expensive when it comes to structuring a deal with a sufficient up-front payment for the German side.

That has led United to consider who might be able to fulfill the same role on the right wing on loan, with the cost of doing business far lower for just a single season. They would then be free to return for Sancho next summer or make a permanent move for another player.

One possible target is Real Madrid’s 31-year-old winger Gareth Bale. He is out of favour under Zinedine Zidane and the Spanish club are apparently willing to pay half of his roughly £600,000-a-week wages to get him off their books for a year.

Bale is open to a return to the Premier League, saying: “If those options arise, it is something I’d look at for sure. We’ll see what happens, we have plenty of time in this transfer window and a couple of others as well.

“Time will tell but mainly I think the reason is that the decision is in Real Madrid’s hands.”

Douglas Costa has also been offered to United by his agents, and the 29-year-old Brazilian is attracting attention from a the UAE. Juventus are keen to sell the player but Costa is reluctant to leave. Whether United would want to consider a move for an injury-prone player, after being stung by players such as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Radamel Falcao in recent seasons, is unclear.

One further option is Ivan Perisic. He spent last season on loan from Inter Milan at Bayern Munich, and was previously wanted by Jose Mourinho before he lost his rag with Ed Woodward.