Could Liverpool Target Gareth Bale This Summer?
If speculation is to be believed, Liverpool will look to prioritise particular areas of their squad when it comes to making possible additions this summer. Tottenham's prodigal son returned to the club last summer on a loan deal with a large portion of his wages paid by Real Madrid. The Spanish giants were eager to offload Bale but given his age, injury record, lack of play time and large wage demands, there were few clubs eager to sign the Wales international. Gareth Bale scores against Liverpool in the Champions League final. (Photo by Xinhua/Sipa USA)  Despite a good season back in the Premier League, it is very unlikely Spurs will sign Bale on a permanent deal unless he takes a massive pay cut from the 500,000 a week wages he earns under his current Madrid contract. The same would apply to any team looking for the forward's signature. Bale showed he still has something to offer last season as he had the best goals to game ratio in the Premier League, scoring 11 goals in 20 appearances. One man who thinks Liverpool could go in for Gareth Bale is his former team-mate Darren Bent. In an interview with talkSPORT (via The Liverpool Echo), Bent said  "Man City wouldnt (sign him), Man United probably wouldnt. Liverpool potentially they may be in for Bale.  Many fans will be scratching their head after Darren Bent's statement as both Manchester clubs are financially more comfortable than Liverpool despite the pandemic, so for the Reds to be the one club out of the three to approach Bale would be strange. Gareth Bale would undoubtedly be a good addition to any squad fighting for titles but it is unlikely a club such as Liverpool would pay anywhere near the 31 year-old's wage demands. He has won four Champions League titles and two La Liga titles with Real Madrid, scoring against Liverpool twice in the 2018 final in Kiev. Liverpool signing Bale would also abandon their current recruitment policy, scouting players mainly in their early to mid twenties who request reasonable wages. If he was willing to take a very, very large pay cut and be happy to remain a squad player, a deal for Bale could be worth a look. It is a pity that Gareth Bale's wage situation is an almost unsolvable one as he is still a good player who can offer a lot, but unless another loan deal with a helping hand from Real Madrid materialises, where the Welshman goes from here is a mystery.