Man United given hope in latest Gareth Bale pursuit, PSG closer to Neymar

United have clear path to Bale

Manchester United could finally be set to land Gareth Bale after being given encouragement from Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane that "anything can happen" before the transfer window closes on Aug. 31.
United have failed in attempts to sign Bale before. Sir Alex Ferguson missed out when Bale left Southampton for Tottenham, and the 13-time Premier League champions were unsuccessful again in 2013 when he left Spurs to join Real Madrid.
Multiple reports in Friday's newspapers claim United are set to make a new move for the Wales international. The Mirror says that Jose Mourinho is keen to sign a wide player this summer with Bale his first-choice target, while the Daily Mail adds that Bale could be sold as part of Madrid's plans to fund a £160 million world-record bid to land Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe.

Neymar to PSG gathers steam

You may have heard by now that Neymar is linked with a move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain. According to French newspaper L'Equipe, the transfer is closer than ever to happening, with PSG and the player agreeing to terms on a five-year contract worth a cool €30m per year after tax.
Having found out how much it will cost them to get Neymar on board, PSG now have to organise the funds to cover the buy-out clause for the Brazil international. What's more, they want to cut a deal in order to meet financial fair play regulations and avoid some of the fees that could end up pushing the total cost of the transfer towards €300m.
It is claimed that could even involve PSG midfielder Marco Verratti, a reported Barcelona target, moving to Camp Nou as part of the deal.

Blues eye Oxlade-Chamberlain, Barkley

Chelsea are considering a move to sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ross Barkley, the London Evening Standard reports.
The Premier League champions have already added Antonio Rudiger, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Alvaro Morata to their squad this summer, but reports this week have suggested Antonio Conte still wants as many as four more new arrivals with a new midfielder seen as a priority.
Both Oxlade-Chamberlain and Barkley are entering the final year of their contracts with Arsenal and Everton, respectively, and come with the bonus of having Premier League experience.

Tap-ins

- The Mirror reckons that Naby Keita has told his advisers to get him a move away from RB Leipzig, with Liverpool set to make a final bid of more than £70m for the 22-year-old next week. Having already seen two bids turned down for Keita, Schalke's Leon Goretzka is an alternative target for Liverpool but Bayern Munich are favourites to sign him.

- Manchester United now have a clear path to move for Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic after Juventus decided to focus on signing Blaise Matuidi from Paris Saint-Germain, the Independent claims. Matic is said to have made it clear a move to Old Trafford is his preference leading Juve to end their interest.
- Sao Paulo midfielder Lucas Fernandes is linked with a move to Real Madrid by AS. The Los Blancos coach who discovered Casemiro has said they have regularly scouted Fernandes since watching him in the 2016 Under-20 Copa Libertadores and even asked how much it would cost to buy the 19-year-old.