Conte given choice to sign Hazard or Bale for Tottenham
Martin Macdonald
- 13 Nov 2021 09:11 GMT
- 5 min read
New Tottenham manager Antonio Conte has reportedly been given the choice to sign either Gareth Bale or Eden Hazard in the January transfer window.
Following the disappointing tenure of Nuno Espirito Santo, Conte was appointed as the new boss at Spurs a couple of weeks ago, even after turning down the opportunity to take over in the summer.
The former Juventus, Chelsea and Italy boss is set to be given £100 million to spend in the upcoming window.
He has identified a few targets from Italy including Stefan de Vrij, Milan Skriniar and Dusan Vlahovic.
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Conte might be getting a player from Spain, too, as according to Spanish journalist Eduardo Inda, chairman Daniel Levy wants to bring in a player from Real Madrid, namely Bale or Hazard.
Inda reports that Conte has asked for Bale instead of Hazard, as after having worked with the Belgian at Chelsea, he is unconvinced by the winger's work rate.
"Daniel Levy would like to sign a Real Madrid player, but one who is always injured," Inda told El Chiringuito.
"He wanted to sign Eden Hazard, but Conte has told him 'no' because he knows him from when he coached Chelsea and says that he has little intensity and that he is not a very hard worker.
"The most striking thing is the player that Conte has asked Levy to bring to London. That's Gareth Bale.
"Bale's contract runs until the end of the season, but in winter he would not be free."
Bale's situation at Real Madrid
Bale became the most expensive player in history at the time in 2013 when Real Madrid signed him from Tottenham for €100 million.
He has gone on to enjoy huge success at Santiago Bernabeu, winning four Champions League titles, two La Liga titles, one Copa del Rey, and three Club World Cup titles.
The Welshman was instrumental in those triumphs, too, scoring in two Champions League finals as well as the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona in 2014.
As his time at the club has progressed, though, he has fallen out of favour both with coaches and with the Real Madrid fans, who have actually taken to booing him on occasion.
He spent the 2020/21 campaign on loan at former club Tottenham and had a decent campaign, scoring 17 goals in all competitions.
Bale's current contract with Madrid ends in the summer of 2022 and there is no chance of a renewal as the club are desperate to get his exorbitant wages off the balance sheet.
Should he return to Tottenham, it would be his third spell with the Premier League side.
