Reports: Real Madrid ready €100m deal for EPL superstar to replace Gareth Bale

What's the story?

Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah is all set to become Real Madrid's latest Galactico, according to a report in Spanish newspaper, Marca. Florentino Perez and Zinedine Zidane have grown weary of Gareth Bale's fitness problems and hope to replace him with the Premier League top scorer. The Reds are likely to demand a fee in excess of €100 million, but Los Blancos are hopeful that including Gareth Bale + cash for the Egyptian winger ought to enough to tempt the hierarchy at Anfield into selling.

In case you didn't know...

A product of El Mokawloon, Mo Salah made his move to Europe at the age of 20, with FC Basel signing him in 2012. After a couple of impressive seasons, Chelsea parted with €6 million to sign the Egyptian - although Salah struggled to get opportunities, with consecutive loans to Fiorentina and Roma, with the latter making his loan permanent in 2016, for a reported fee of €15 million. A stellar season with the Serie A side followed, resulting in Liverpool parting with €50 million (including add-ons) for the Egyptian's services earlier this summer.

The heart of the matter

Salah has seen his goal threat skyrocket in the Premier League this season, with the Egyptian topping the Premier League scoring charts, ahead of the likes of Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku and Sergio Aguero. His excellent form has not gone unnoticed in the continent, with Real Madrid eyeing up a move.

Zinedine Zidane expressed his admiration for the Egyptian winger recently, saying "Salah is great player, [he has] shown that at Roma, now Liverpool. He is still young, improving all the time. I don't talk much about other players, but he is a player I rate a lot."

Ordinarily, Liverpool would have met Real Madrid's bid for Salah with the same disdain as they did with Barcelona's bid for Philippe Coutinho, but Los Blancos have an ace up their sleeve in Gareth Bale. The Welshman would ordinarily be valued in the range of €100 million, and Madrid hope to sweeten the pot with an additional cash offer.

Video:

Author's Take:

Mo Salah would improve any team, but his suitability for Real Madrid seems almost too good to be true. Salah would be a Galactico for Real Madrid in the sense of cornering the Arab market they are ever-so-popular in, while in addition being perfectly suited to replace Gareth Bale in Real Madrid's right-wing-forward role.