Manchester United have reached an advanced stage in the talks to bring Gareth Bale to Old Trafford from Real Madrid, according to the Manchester Evening News.

The report claims that Jose Mourinho wants to make the 28-year-old Welshman his next summer signing. Ed Woodward and Mourinho also believe that the former Tottenham man is the perfect player for United’s attack.

The pair had even made Bale a priority over Cristiano Ronaldo as the Portuguese attacker ended up signing for Juventus for a fee stated to be £88million.

Bale would, however, have the final say about moving back to the Premier League as he wants to understand his role under Julen Lopetegui, the new manager at Madrid.

The £350,000-a-week Welsh attacker had grown frustrated with his lack of starts under former manager Zinedine Zidane and needs to be convinced that he is a part of the plans at the La Liga club next season.

The report also claims that Woodward had made Bale one of the targets at United ever since he started looking after the transfers at Old Trafford back in 2013.

While Ronaldo would have been a great option for us, Bale is a good player and he still has a lot of quality football left in him.

The Welshman can play out wide or down the middle and would certainly make our attack one of the most potent in all of Europe.

Read more: Jose Mourinho does not want to even loan this World Cup star out this summer – report

The 28-year-old was the match winner for Real in the Champions League final against Liverpool and there is no doubting his ability to perform a lot of magic at Old Trafford under Mourinho.