Gossip: Bayern 'rival Manchester United for Bale', Real Madrid 'target Salah', Chelsea Dzeko bid 'accepted'

There are few things fickler than football. Possibly teenage love, or over-indulged cats. But football is right up there, as the case of Gareth Bale proves.

A few weeks ago Real Madrid were reportedly trying to give the injury-prone Welshman away and he was getting more whistles from the crowd than a mini-skirted woman walking past a group of chauvinistic builders; now he’s fully fit, scoring goals and getting standing ovations in 7-1 victories.

So he might not be going to Manchester United after all. But he could, allegedly, be on his way to Bayern Munich.

The Mirror says the German giants are set to rival the Red Devils for the top-knotted forward’s signature after being impressed with his recent return to form.

But to make things more complicated, Real president Florentino Perez has also been impressed and may now “think twice” about ditching Bale, choosing instead to offload Cristiano Ronaldo.

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OR he could get rid of both his attacking superstars and bring in some fresh blood, such as Mohamed Salah.

The Liverpool attacker is reportedly bound for the Bernabeu this summer, or at least he is if you listen to any high-ranking Egyptian football officials – which I always do.

The Sun reports that the president of the Egyptian FA, Hany Abo Rida, has predicted his star player’s imminent switch from Anfield to La Liga, saying it “would be great for Egyptian football” if Salah played for a big club like Real.

Cheek. Hasn’t this guy heard of Kenny Dalglish, Titi Camara and Jason McAteer?

Chelsea on brink of Dzeko deal

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s pursuit of a big man up top appears to be nearing its conclusion with the Express’s claim that Roma have “accepted” the Blues’ £28m offer for Edin Dzeko.

However, the paper then explains that there is a “final issue”, which is that the Italians are still demanding an extra £5m in add-ons. Which kind of makes it sound as if they have actually accepted Chelsea’s bid at all.

But don’t despair, Blues fans, because there is one towering target man who may answer everyone’s prayers by becoming available at the perfect moment. It’s Carlton Cole!

The Sun reports that the 34-year-old former Chelsea striker, currently a free agent yet still with so much love to give, has attracted interest from Championship strugglers Birmingham and Hull, along with League One strugglers AFC Wimbledon.

But he’d probably willing to ditch them if Roman Abramovich made him a good enough offer – for example, £500 a week in wages and a 25% discount at the club shop.

Elsewhere, Manchester City have sent scouts to watch Lille’s 18-year-old, £20m-rated midfielder Boubakary Soumare, described as “the new Paul Pogba” ( Mail ) Stoke City have made a £3.25m bid for New York City’s England Under-21 winger Jack Harrison ( Mail ) and Juventus are close to agreeing a deal to sign Nice striker Mario Balotelli on a free transfer this summer ( Sun ). It’s about time the talented Italian got a chance at a big club.