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Gareth Bale To Manchester United Rumors Hold Little Weight

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By @NickBurgess92

Gareth Bale

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Oh silly season, how I’ve missed you. With the real holiday of the January transfer window almost upon us, the rumor mill is in full spin, and it has ejected a cracker just in time for Christmas. Multiple reports have surfaced that Manchester United are all in for Gareth Bale, and both team and player have given the deal the green-light.

This transfer makes very little sense for either party. Manchester United already have a wealth of attacking talent, especially after the moves they made in the summer transfer market. And why would Real Madrid want to sell Bale, a player they set the transfer record for? Bale has repaid them in dividends, scoring 15 goals and registering 12 assists last season in La Liga, and he scored the winning goals in both the Copa del Rey and Champions League finals. He has already scored seven goals this season in the league and has formed a lethal partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema that has seen them move to the top of La Liga and sent them to a record 21-game winning streak in all competitions.

This doesn’t even bring in the cost of the transfer, in which Real Madrid would want to make a profit on the Welsh winger, meaning Bale would break his own transfer record.

The only glimmer of hope this saga has is Madrid’s interest in Marco Reus, Eden Hazard and Raheem Sterling. All three of these players would command high transfer fees (with the exception of Reus who has a rumored release clause), and Los Blancos would need a way to fund these moves. The transfer of three wingers doesn’t really add up for Madrid, as they are all first team quality and are all fairly young players. In addition, Hazard has recently signed a contract extension with Chelsea, making him that much more difficult to pry away.

It would be surprising if Manchester United were able to pull off this stunning transfer, but their minds, and money, should be focused on the other end of the pitch in defense. They need a world class center back to command games, as well as a genuinely classy midfielder to dictate tempo.

For United fans, look for young Adnan Januzaj to keep hold of the No. 11 shirt for a long while yet.

Nick Burgess is a soccer columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickBurgess92, “Like” him on Facebook and connect with him on Google.

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