Aston Villa a potential Premier League destination for Gareth Bale – reports
Aston Villa are one of the teams tracking Gareth Bale ahead of a potential Premier League return this summer, according to The Guardian.
The Welsh star has left the Santiago Bernabeu after nine years and is available on a free transfer.
He scored 106 goals in Madrid from 256 appearances in all competitions, and picked up five Champions League winners medals, although he featured sparingly in his final three campaigns, including spending the 2020/21 season on loan at former side Tottenham.
According to The Guardian, Spurs are again in the equation for his signature along with the Villans, as they reported Thursday (16 June): “Tottenham, Newcastle and Aston Villa are keeping an eye on the former Real Madrid man.”
BBC Sport Wales had also suggested Villa Park as a possible destination a day earlier (15 June).
In an article discussing the 32-year-old’s future Dafydd Pritchard wrote: “Newcastle will be expected to spend heavily as they prepare for their first full season under their Saudi ownership, while Aston Villa have made some eye-catching acquisitions – Philippe Coutinho among them – with Steven Gerrard in charge.”
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While he is certainly on the decline it would still be a statement for the Lions to sign the one-time most expensive player in the world.
Gerrard has shown that he wants to make such moves, and although Brazilian star Coutinho is younger and arguably still in his prime, there has been strong recent interest in Luis Suarez who falls into a similar category as Bale.
The Welsh captain is famously seen to prioritise international duty, after golf, over the club game in recent years, but an amount of that can be put down to a general souring of relations with the club and fans in La Liga.
He was no longer the league-dominating force from his first Spurs stint when he returned on loan but 16 goals, including 11 in just 20 Premier League games shows he has plenty still to offer.
The chance to lead his country at the Qatar World Cup in the winter is likely to be in the forefront of his mind, which could work either way when it comes to domestic football.
He will want to be in form for the November tournament, but will obviously want to avoid injury robbing him of the historic chance.
Whether the club can afford his wages which, although sure to be down on his massive Real contract, will likely be considerable is debatable, having spent heavily already this summer.
Bertrand Traore may be on the way out, but it would seem somewhat decadent to replace him with an much older and more expensive Bale.
If Gerrard views him as able to start every game and make a real difference to the side he could be worth handing hefty wages, but as a supporting player he would seem the wrong option.
However, his leadership skills can’t be overlooked considering his talismanic status for Wales, and he would certainly be an eye-catching move for a club who are producing their fair share of such moments of late.
In other Aston Villa news, the club are interested in signing Burnley defender Nathan Collins.