Reports: Real Madrid ready to sell superstar to Manchester United on one condition

What's the story?

Manchester United have been chasing Welshman, Gareth Bale, for about three years now but have been unable to sign him. The Red Devils will get a facelift though if they are willing to swap Mr. Fail-safe David De Gea for the 28-year-old, according to Daily Express.

Zinedine Zidane has made it clear to Los Blancos that he doesn't want excessive attacking options in his side as that will, in turn, cause internal conflict. This means that it is Bale's contract that looks set to face the guillotine drop.

In case you didn't know...

The Neymar transfer saga has set the dominoes falling all around Europe. La Blaugrana, now equipped with enviable financial resources owing to the proceeds from the Brazilian's sale, are sizing up their targets and Real Madrid are seemingly unsettled.

Mbappe is rumoured to be ready to leave AS Monaco and Madrid want to cash in on the opportunity.

De Gea is arguably United's best player and it is likely that the Red Devils won't let him leave.

The heart of the matter

Bale's streak of injuries has played a major role in him playing second fiddle to Isco. The Welshman, who is one of the best in the business, played only 19 games in the La Liga this past season. He still scored nine goals and picked up three assists across La Liga and Champions League.

The dominance of the BBC trio has seemingly reached its denouement. But the fact remains that Bale is still one of the best in the world and Perez will not shed him off like he's dead weight. In fact, Perez believes Bale is leverage enough for United to consider selling them De Gea.

De Gea is one of the best goalkeepers in the world right now. He has single-handedly won and drawn several matches for United and is a fan favourite. The fact that he was welcomed with the loudest cheer after the fax fiasco from a couple of summers ago has seen him settle into life at Old Trafford, embracing his fate with a smile.

It's not so much the economic demands that have thrown Bale's future into uncertainty as Zidane's strategy. On the attacking front, Madrid have Ronaldo, Benzema, Isco, Asensio and a host of young talent. Mbappe will only move to the Santiago Bernabeu if they can promise to make him a crucial part of the starting XI. Given his bouts of injury, Bale is the only one who looks expendable and Real Madrid are ready to offload their most expensive buy in exchange for Spain's no.1.

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Author's take

United do not need Bale. They want Bale. Real Madrid need De Gea. You cannot expect Jose Mourinho to not be privy to that. Asking a team to give you their best player in exchange for one of your expendable ones is a typical case of taking the pi**. But that being said, Real Madrid are probably the only club in the world that would be willing to offload a player of Bale's quality.

United will want to bring in competition for Anthony Martial and not a take the exit signboard. Releasing De Gea right now would be a bad idea for the Old Trafford outfit as they return to Europe's elite competition. But with Bale, Lukaku, Rashford, Pogba, Martial, Mkhi and Mata (phew) hassling defences, United shouldn't worry too much about rattling the opposition's netting.

This might just be the post-Neymar transfer saga that will take over the world as the new season gets set to begin.