Manchester United: Louis van Gaal prepares £100m bid for Gareth Bale

Manchester United are preparing a massive bid for Gareth Bale in the summer as Louis van Gaal looks to getting his team back to title winning ways, reports the Telegraph.

The United manager has been told that he will be handed the funds to pursue Bale should the Welshman be made available by Real Madrid after a significant increase in their revenue.

The increase was owing to their deal with Adidas kicking in this summer and also their return to Europe. They had lost up to £50m last year owing to their failure to qualify under David Moyes.

This is a massive step forward for the Red Devils, who can now stock their squad with world class players in each position and finally forge a team which can challenge Chelsea's dominance at the top.

Bale's arrival will give them some much needed pace in the frontline which has been starkly lacking since Antonio Valencia was deployed in a defensive role at right-back.

Bale's incisive running, combined with his finishing can wreck havoc in the opposition box and the addition of players by the quality of Ilkay Gundogan and Memphis Depay will add more strength in depth to their midfield and on the wings.

The Red Devils have also been linked with a move for Mats Hummels to shore up their defence, which has been heavily lacking since the departure of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. The German international will add experience and leadership to the backline, which was seriously lacking in their 3-0 thrashing at Everton.

The Blues have all but secured the title this season with their win over Leicester City in midweek and will lay claim the prize if they are able to get the better of Crystal Palace in the weekend.

United are currently settled in fourth spot, two points behind Manchester City and Arsenal, with the Gunners having a game in hand against Sunderland. A win over West Bromwich Albion in the weekend will take the Red Devils a point clear of the Gunners, who play Hull City on 4 May.