Tottenham coach André Villas-Boas is a keen admirer of Coentrao, and has tried to sign him on two occasions, first when he was in charge of Chelsea and then last summer.
Carmen Colino | 27/10/2012
Real Madrid could offer Fabio Coentrao to Tottenham as part of their bid to bring Gareth Bale to the Santiago Bernabéu. Such a move would make the transfer easier for Madrid to afford and easier for Spurs coach André Villas-Boas to accept, as he has long been an admirer of the Portuguese left-back and tried to sign him in the summer of 2011, when he was the coach of Chelsea.
He even tried to include Coentrao in the transfer of Luka Modric from Tottenham to Madrid this summer, but Madrid rejected the proposal.
Villas-Boas appears to be not against Bale leaving for Madrid in exchange for Coentrao and a large amount of money.
When Tottenham asked about Coentrao in the summer they were told he was “unsellable”, but recent events have softened the club and coach José Mourinho’s stance.
Coentrao has only played 180 minutes [the first leg of the Supercopa de España against Barcelona and the opening day of the season against Valencia], owing to injury and a four game suspension for getting sent off in the 1-2 defeat to Getafe, even though he was not on the pitch during the game.
He has also lacked discipline on several occasions, and Mourinho has punished him for this by leaving him on the bench. The coach has tried to change his compatriot’s mentality, but without success. Coentrao is currently injured but once he is back to full fitness he is likely to be given another chance by Mourinho due to the long term injury to Marcelo, who will not play again until January.
As AS reported on Friday, Bale renewed his contract with Tottenham last summer until 2016, and earns five million euros per year plus bonuses. His asking price is 62 million euros and Madrid know full well how difficult it will be to negotiate with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, having dealt with him this summer in the Modric transfer.
Bale would like to start a new adventure away from the Premier League and in an interview with AS correspondent Guillem Balague last year, revealed he watched Madrid in awe when he was a child: “I grew up watching and admiring Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo. The club has an incredible aura.
We are talking about the best club in the world. Real Madrid has a history, identity, glamour. As a youngster I used to try and copy things that Ronaldo or Zidane or Beckham did at the Bernabeu, like the Zidane turn, without falling over.”
