Van Persie and Bale head up Pep’s Barcelona shopping list
Published:Pep Guardiola has drawn up his summer shopping list and two of the Premier League’s star men lead the way, as the Barcelona boss looks to add to his mercurial squad to keep them competing on all fronts.
Robin van Perise is understandably high up that list and is priced at 7/2 to swap London for Cataluna at the end of the season.
The 34-goal hitman has been inspired this season and thanks to staying injury free for the first time in years, the 28-year old has romped to the top of the Premier League goalscoring charts, remaining an ever-present throughout the campaign.
The Dutchman would be available at a cut-price should he wish to leave, as his contract is up next summer.
It is believed that Van Persie feels Guardiola’s tiki-taka style, mirrored by his current club, would allow him to slot effortlessly into a forward line that already contains David Villa, Alexis Sanchez and Lionel Messi.
Another player that interests Barca is Spurs winger Gareth Bale, priced at 6/1 to ply his trade for the Blaugrana next term.
Bale has been part of a Tottenham side that at one point this season was challenging at the summit of the Premier League, recent form and links between boss, Harry Redknapp, and the England job has seen their campaign tail off.
If the White Hart Lane club fail to make the Champions League or Redknapp opts to manage his country, Bale may be tempted to head to Spain, after recently admitting a move to Barca or Real Madrid would interest him.
The Catalan club would look to snap Bale up for around £30 million with Tottenham demanding closer to the £40 million mark.
The only snag could be that the Welsh international is seen as the perfect replacement for 32-year old full-back Eric Abidal, whereas Bale now sees himself as more of an attacking force.
However, the high line currently adopted by both Abidal and the right-sided Dani Alves, would allow Bale to play almost as a winger at the Camp Nou.
