Manchester United Transfer News: Major Gareth Bale Battle Amid Contract Rumours

New rumours regarding Real Madrid star Gareth Bale have emerged, as the Wales international is reportedly contemplating a move back to England to join Manchester United or Manchester City, despite Los Blancos' plans to offer him a new long-term deal.

That's according to Tuttomercatoweb (h/t Sun's Anthony Chapman), who claim Bale's representatives are already working on a move back to the Premier League.

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The 26-year-old has been in stunning form of late, once again showcasing his tremendous talent after a difficult 18-month stretch. His first season in the Spanish capital was impressive, but he struggled in 2014-15 and became something of a scapegoat for Real's failings.

Per Chapman, he has returned to his best since Zinedine Zidane replaced former manager Rafa Benitez, and persistent transfer speculation died down as a result. Highlight reels show exactly how impressive Bale has been during the 2015-16 campaign.

Per WhoScored.com, he has scored 15 goals and added 10 assists in just 19 La Liga appearances. Those are fantastic numbers, particularly when you take into account the fact he shares the pitch with Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema―two players who take away tons of touches.

Those stats have seen the Spanish media make a major u-turn on how they view the player, per Sport Witness:

Transfer speculation is never far away, however, and with the Premier League giants all set for a busy summer, links with City and United shouldn't come as a surprise.

Pep Guardiola will replace Manuel Pellegrini as manager of the former, and the Citizens are expected to hand the Spaniard a significant war chest to strengthen his team ahead of the 2015-16 campaign.

United are also expected to switch things up at the top, with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho the favourite to replace Louis van Gaal, per Chapman. If the Special One is named as the next Red Devils boss, he too will be looking to buy this summer.

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The Red Devils in particular are in dire need of some attacking upgrades, as two youngsters in Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford currently carry the squad. The two are exceptionally talented, but they're too young to be counted on every single week, and an experienced upgrade is needed.

Bale would be the perfect solution―the Welshman is a world-class talent who has already proven his abilities in the Premier League, finding plenty of success with Tottenham Hotspur.

But Bale has yet to give any indication he wants to leave Los Blancos, and during a recent interview with UEFA.com (h/t beIN Sports), he made it sound as if his Spanish adventure is only just beginning:

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It's been an amazing experience for me. It's obviously a massive club with big expectations. I've come here, I've done well. We have won four trophies, which is a good return, but we want to win more. 

A lot of things have come good. I think my possession game is improving still – obviously the Premier League is a lot of attacking, end to end, and Spanish-based football is more possession. I feel I've improved in that area and my finishing. All round I've improved, and I still feel I've got a lot more to improve on.

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A transfer seemed possible, perhaps even likely just a few months ago, as Bale's on-pitch struggles led to plenty of frustration among the fans and the media. Manu Sainz of AS claimed Los Blancos' patience was “running out” in February, pointing at his price tag and the fact that the team wasn't statistically worse when he wasn't playing:

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Taking into account the 100.7 million [euros] fee of his transfer from Spurs, plus his 18-million-euro gross salary, he has so far cost the club 750,000 euros per game.

And on top of that, Madrid's results show that the team do not struggle in Bale's absence, either: they have lost just once without him, in the penultimate week of the 2013-14 La Liga campaign.

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Things have changed in a hurry, however, and under Zidane, Bale is once again playing some of the best football of his life. The French manager likely won't even entertain the idea of a sale, and Real's impending transfer embargo will only complicate matters, per Ed Malyon of the Daily Mirror.

A move for Bale certainly isn't impossible, but right now, it doesn't seem likely.