Manchester United round-up: Bale’s agent reacts to speculation; return for Perisic; midfielder scouted

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Gareth Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett has spoken out to rubbish rumours of a potential move from Real Madrid to Manchester United as he told BBC Sport that, “it’s a ridiculous, stupid story”. The Welshman had been linked with a sensational return to the Premier League after reports that Real Madrid had agreed a fee for Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe.

Bale has had a nightmare season in 2016/17 with injuries blighting his campaign and struggling to reach top form as he lacked fitness. It is not a surprise that some in Madrid, a notoriously impatient club, have grown frustrated with the former Tottenham man, but Zinedine Zidane clearly still believes in his man.

The failure of the Bale deal to amount to anything could also have complications for other dealings. The Independent say that United had grown frustrated with the lack of progress in talks over Ivan Perisic with Inter Milan and decided to prioritise Bale over the past few weeks.

Now, their main focus has returned to the Croatian winger, who is currently in Asia with Luciano Spalletti’s side preparing for the new season. The two clubs had been close to an agreement, but Inter are still refusing to budge on their £48 million asking price for the 28-year-old and could make any potential deal difficult.

Another potential addition could be young Anderlecht midfielder Leander Dendoncker, according to Flemish newspaper De Morgen. They claim that Manchester United have been scouting the 22-year-old after his strong performances domestically and in the Europa League in 2016/17, which caught the eye of United.

Dendoncker impressed at Old Trafford when the two sides came head to head and he has since been tracked by scouts from the club. While there is no evidence that there will be any move for the youngster just yet, he could become a target if he maintains his current form in 2017/18.