By SIMON JONES
Real Madrid director of football Zinedine Zidane watched Gareth Bale on Thursday night as the Spanish champions maintain their pursuit of the Tottenham midfielder.
Bale is Madrid’s number one transfer target for the summer and the 23-year-old is expected to follow former team-mate Luka Modric to the Bernabeu once his £55million valuation is met.
Bayern Munich and Barcelona also want Bale but his price tag is prohibitive considering their self-imposed budget constraints.
Bale played 90 minutes at Lyon as Tottenham progressed in the Europa League thanks to Mousa Dembele’s late equaliser.
Bale has struck seven goals in his last six games for club and country, with 21 goals from 38 for the season in all competitions. Madrid are wary that Cristiano Ronaldo may yet leave this summer with Paris St Germain and Manchester United monitoring developments and Bale’s capture would help appease demand for a star name.
They have monitored his progress for the past three seasons. Zidane’s views are highly regarded and he has helped to recruit some of Madrid’s brightest stars.
