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05th Aug 2017

Manchester United’s Gareth Bale hopes appear to have been dealt a blow as Real Madrid postpone Mbappé move

It's off (again)

Simon Lloyd

We’ve been here before, haven’t we?

Gareth Bale’s move to Manchester United – a move that might only have existed in transfer gossip columns – is off.

For a couple of days or so, it seemed that Jose Mourinho’s quest for a winger might see United make a move for the Welshman, who Real Madrid were reportedly happy to let go as they stepped up their pursuit for Monaco’s Kylian Mbappé.

However, according to Jamie Jackson in the Guardian, the European champions are prepared to wait a year for Mbappé, and have told Bale that he is very much part of Zinedine Zidane’s future plans as a result.

The same report claims that Ed Woodward will continue to monitor Bale’s situation, and that United maintain their interest in Internazionale’s Croatian winger, Ivan Perisic.

While Real might expect Mbappé to stick around at Monaco for another season, Jackson also points out that Barcelona may now turn their attentions to the the 18-year-old as they seek to replace Neymar.

Manchester City, who have signed Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy from Monaco this summer, are also thought to be interested in Mbappé. The French international was in Manchester on Saturday and tweeted a picture of himself with Leroy Sane.