You would want Di Maria now? Straight swap for Bale would be fair. Both doing do crap for there current clubs.
Man City have spent more then that since 2008 and all they had is a couple of lucky titles and done sweet fa in the CL.
My take on the Bale vs De Gea transfer: I really like De Gea, I don't want him to leave but if he wants to go to Real (being Spanish, regardless of being an ex-Atletico player) then it makes sense to get a player like Bale in return. On De Gea, my biased viewpoint is that he's the best GK except for maybe Neuer, so any replacement for him won't be as good. HOWEVER, as a team challenging for titles I believe an improved attack will outweigh a weakened GK position, as we should be doing a lot more attacking than defending. I'm fully aware that due to our dodgy defense De Gea has bailed us out on too many occasions to count the past two seasons! But if we get a high quality central defender and defensive midfielder that we've been crying out for (and should be on the cards we hope), then getting Bale and the goals/assists he should provide SHOULD outweigh the fact that we get a weaker GK than De Gea, as he should hopefully not be called upon that often to save our skins. (Look at Barca and how they got away with a GK that in my opinion was not top, top class while they dominated Europe) So essentially my argument is this: A) Buy the Central Defender and Defensive Midfielder we've desperately needed for years, regardless of the Bale/De Gea saga. This should make us a lot more solid. Then B) if De Gea wants to stay, great. If he wants to move to Real, then C) buy Bale and another GK. Our GK won't be as good as De Gea, but with our improved defense Bale's influence should considerably outweigh the loss of De Gea. Anyone agree?
Absolutely agree. There is no doubt that our squad will be a more attacking unit next season, so you would like to think we will be banging them in for fun. Having said that, De Gea must have been worth 10 points this season and unless the defense gets a major overhaul too then we are likely to ship as many at one end as we score at the other. I still think the De Gea move is tied to two factors 1) if we are playing in the CL he will stay and 2) if he stays, Mendes will insist we keep Falcao.
I'd love to have Bale, he's a great player suited to and used to our league. That said, I think if you have the best keeper in the world on your books you do your level best to keep him so not sure we'd secure Bale if De Gea doesn't go the other way. I agree in principle with Custard in reality though, should De Gea leave then it is only after the high quality centre half and centre mid have already been secured and not before. Those two positions are the most important to us, once we have them we can start exchanging and selling. I think Di Maria will leave if Bale comes in too. I'm not necessarily saying he should, just that he will. He's fragile enough in temperament without seeing someone bought in as a ready made replacement, it'd send him over the edge. Can see him going off to PSG and a quieter life in an easy league. His transfer would offset and fund some of the incomers. Vidal looked fit last night, maybe he's now ready to come over? Him, Hummels, Bale and Clyne? Get Dani Alves in on a free also.
[QUOTE="Chief, post: 7899502, member: 1008591"if you have the best keeper in the world on your books you do your level best to keep him[/QUOTE] lol, he's not even the best keeper in the EPL
Agree. I hope that De Gea will stay. He is a great GK and given us many points this season. He could repeat the same next season or may not. If he goes it is not a disaster as long as we get a good fee and get a top replacement. Bale: if he becomes available, I have no doubt that he will be bought at whatever cost. Even at £100m plus. The GGs MO is now that they will recoup several times that amount from the kudos of having the most expensive player in the world. They will sell even more sponsorships and endorsements to the american multinationals. And of course we need to get a central defender like Hummels to reinforce the defence. The objective is to have 2 top players to cover each position. With the £200m made available to LVG I can't see why not.
Gotta say the way Bale is playing at the moment, I wouldn't want us to be paying Madrid silly money for him. He certainly isn't worth the money they paid for him. He's 2 years older now, and has just had a poor season by his standards. I recall Chelsea paying 50 million for Torres when he was playing poorly in his latter days at Liverpool, and they wrongly assumed that a change of club would see him rediscover his best. How wrong they where! I'm not saying Bale will go the same way, just that alarm bells should be ringing when we're talking about paying 80 million pounds for him. It's not a transfer we can afford to get wrong
Second season syndrome that is all. He doesnt look happy though and that will play a part on performance.
Totally frustrated if you ask me, he isn`t getting enough of the ball. When he does, he trys too hard to make something happen. When things go wrong it just leads to more frustration and dejection.
He was over priced when Real bought him and like you say, he's older now and struggling. Anywhere near 80 million would represent a massive risk. But I'd love him at Chelsea, just not for that sort of money.
He's 25! Ok, not very young, but still a good few years in him yet. Ronaldo was 24 when he went to Real and only got better from there.
Why? Bale is younger and proven Prem success. United with their crazy overspending are a dumping ground for Real's rejecticos. Maybe you should buy Casillas and Pepe for £100m too
Worried? Overspending? you mean overpaying surely. And United's "overpaying" will surely affect other clubs in that they will need to fork out more for their own buys. My heart bleeds As for the cost to United of this madness e.g selling expensive players cheap, the GGs will be getting less profit into their grubby hands. sure I'll be really upset about that...
