Man Utd 'Unlikely' to Make Late Attempt to Sign Gareth Bale From Real Madrid

Manchester United are 'unlikely' to make a last-ditch effort to bring Gareth Bale to the club this summer as they continue to push to sign Jadon Sancho. Meanwhile, a move for Bale's Real Madrid teammate Sergio Reguilon wasn't 'ever planned'.

The Red Devils have made slow progress in the summer transfer window so far, only managing to bring in Donny van de Beek from Ajax up to this moment. Borussia Dortmund's Sancho still remains the priority target but, as negotiations continue to drag on and with United seemingly unwilling to give in to the Bundesliga outfit's demands, the club have drawn up a list of alternative targets.

Bale recently emerged as an option, potentially on loan if Real Madrid were willing to part fund his wages during his spell away. However, with Tottenham now making a genuine push to bring him back to north London, the Manchester Evening News report that it is unlikely United will intervene.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is very keen to protect the existing wage structure at the club and is even willing to miss out on top targets, if it means maintaining harmony within the squad. With this in mind, a permanent move for Bale wasn't an option - but a loan was due to the current problems surrounding the Sancho deal.

The report adds Bale was open to the idea of making the switch to Old Trafford, but there wasn't ever contact with his representatives. Instead, should Bale now leave Madrid, it is looking increasingly likely it will be a return to Spurs.

As for Man Utd, they will continue to try and find an agreement to sign Sancho before the deadline. There was a breakthrough recently with regards the agents' fees and player wages - but the actual transfer sum still remains an issue.

Tottenham are also now closing in on the signing of Reguilon, also from Madrid. The Red Devils were said to be in touch to sign the left-back and appeared to be the frontrunners at one stage, but the MEN report that no move for Reguilon was 'ever planned'. This is despite the fact that the United recruitment team were impressed with him during his loan spell with Sevilla in 2019/20.

Indeed, a source confirmed to 90min on Tuesday that the Red Devils only ever made an enquiry for Reguilon. It is thought that Spurs are willing to include a buy-back option within the deal for the Spaniard - something United are not willing to do.