Real Madrid Transfer News: Zinedine Zidane Talks Up Mohamed Salah

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has talked up Liverpool star Mohamed Salah, per Liam Prenderville of the Daily Mirror: "Salah is a great player. He showed that at Roma, now at Liverpool. He's still young and is improving all the time. I don't talk much about other players, but he is a player I rate a lot."

Zidane's words will stoke the rumours that Los Merengues could eventually make a move for the prolific winger. Those rumours gathered pace earlier this month when Egypt national team boss Hector Cuper told ON Sport TV (h/t Metro) he had "received confirmed news revealing Real Madrid's interest in Salah."

However, Guillem Balague of Sky Sports subsequently said Los Blancos have no interest in Liverpool's attacking talisman.

It would be no surprise if Real's stance has changed, though, given Salah's prolific form in the Premier League. He has scored 18 goals in all competitions since arriving from Serie A in the summer.

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Salah has shown the qualities any top club could use in attack. The most notable of those traits are pace and movement.

No marker can catch Salah once he's in behind, while his runs off the ball are varied, making him even harder to keep track of for defenders.

Those are the attributes Real had hoped for from Gareth Bale. However, the player who moved to the Spanish capital for a then-world-record transfer from Tottenham Hotspur in 2013 has been blighted by injuries.

Despite helping the club win three UEFA Champions League trophies, La Liga and the Copa del Rey, Los Blancos are reportedly ready to sell, having lost patience with the player who has played less than 60 percent of the games since being at the club, per Spanish source AS (h/t the Daily Mirror).

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Bale seems to be inching closer towards a return to England's top flight with Diario Gol (h/t Charlotte Duncker of the Manchester Evening News) reporting an agreement is in place for Bale to move to Old Trafford next summer.

Salah makes sense as an alternative to Bale. He's younger at 25 than the 28-year-old Wales international, as well as more durable.

It's difficult to believe Liverpool will sell any time soon, having spent £34.3 million to sign Salah in the summer, but Real have the resources to put together a fee hefty enough to sign a player rapidly becoming a world-class talent.