Carlo Ancelotti wants to bring Gareth Bale to Everton on a free transfer this summer when he returns to Real Madrid from Tottenham.
That’s according to Spanish journalist Eduardo Inda, who says the Blues boss ‘has asked for’ Bale as part of his summer rebuild.
Bale is currently on loan at Tottenham from Real Madrid, having returned to his former club in the summer after a miserable few years in the Spanish capital.
He’s had something of an indifferent campaign, with flashes of brilliance intersected with frustrating displays and continued injury problems.
As a result, he’s set to return to his parent club in the summer, with it widely reported that Tottenham will not look to make his loan move a permanent one.
That’s put Madrid in something of an awkward position as Zinedine Zidane has no plans to use Bale next season and has made it clear he wants to be rid.
Finding a suitor is tough, though, with several reports indicating that Bale is refusing to move from the huge wage packet he earns at the Bernabeu. Indeed, he would be willing to sit on the bench for a year and continue to collect what he’s owed.
A solution needs to be found that suits all parties, then, and according to Inda, Everton are willing to offer it.
He recently appeared on El Chiringuito and claimed, “Ancelotti has asked for Bale, a player he always loved when they played together at Real Madrid. He wants to take him to Everton.”
He also added that the Blues have no intention of paying a transfer fee for the Welshman but were instead eyeing a similar deal to the one that took James Rodríguez to Goodison Park last year.
That was all he was willing to offer on the potential deal, so we’ll have to take it with a massive pinch of salt at this moment in time.
The fact is, though, it’s more than dubious. While Everton do need a right-winger and will likely be targeting high-profile players this summer, a move for Bale seems unlikely.
For a start, his wages are huge, and even if he were to reduce them, would probably still be far outside of the structure Everton are trying to put in place. That’s before you factor in his age and injury problems into the mix.
Lastly, it’s also hard to believe Ancelotti is such a big fan, given he’s publicly spoken about disagreeing with Bale’s agent and president Florentino Perez about playing Bale on the wing for Real Madrid.
All of those factors make a move very unlikely, although we said the same about Rodríguez, and that worked out very differently, so we will have to wait and see if anything develops in the coming months.
