OPINION
Paul Ince is surely wrong to suggest that Real Madrid attacker Gareth Bale should join Liverpool as it would be a risky move for the 30-year-old to make.
The Telegraph reported on Monday that Bale who earns around £600,000-a-week will assess any offer that comes his way, but will not allow manager Zinedine Zidane’s admission that he wants the winger to leave force him to take a pay-cut to go elsewhere.
Ince opted to weigh in what he thought the best possible move for Bale would be given his current situation and the BBC pundit shared that if the Reds could afford him then the winger should opt to go to Anfield.
Gareth Bale to #LFC? ?
'I actually think if Liverpool can afford Bale then he should go there' ?@PaulInce says the Welshman could help the #UCL winners in their hunt for the Premier League ?
Join us ?:
???: https://t.co/0kUniX6SeW pic.twitter.com/iW7hCOM3fH— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) July 22, 2019
“I actually think my personal opinion, if Liverpool could afford him, he should go to Liverpool,” said Ince on BBC Radio 5 Live, as seen in a clip uploaded to the broadcaster’s Twitter account.
“The reason why I say that is because if you look at the front three, they’ve played all over the summer, Mane has just finished at the African Cup of Nations with Senegal, Salah was with Eqypt, Firmino was at the Copa America so y’know how much rest are they going to get before the season starts.
“Bale can play on the right, Bale can play on the left, Bale can play central, I know they’ve got Origi and Shaqiri, but are they good enough?”
However while Bale is an amazing player, surely Ince is wrong to suggest Liverpool would be his ideal team to join as it would be a risk for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, would Bale really flourish under Jurgen Klopp given his injury record?
The German boss is known for his heavy metal football, which basically is a fast-paced and intense style of football which sees the whole team having to cover a lot of ground. (Source: Goal).
For example, it’s not a rare sight to see attacker Roberto Firmino tracking back to help his side’s defence, he made 15 clearances in the league last season (Source: Premier League), nor is it a surprise to see fellow attacker Mohamed Salah also drop deep to help out, the Eqyptian blocked 33 shots in his latest league campaign (Source: Premier League).
With that in mind, every member of the Reds’ team ends up covering a lot of ground and that could be very taxing on a player.
Considering Bale’s injury record, which takes up two pages on his Transfermarkt profile, it highlights his tendency to pick up regular niggles regarding his hamstring, calves and ankles, so he could easily struggle to cope with Klopp’s style and end up in the injury room at Anfield more often than not.
The other reason while it would be a gamble for Bale to join Liverpool, is that they probably are one of the only teams in the world where he isn’t guaranteed a first-team spot.
When you look at Bale’s 2018/19 record in La Liga for Real Madrid compared to how Liverpool’s front three Salah, Mane and Firmino fared in the Premier League on Who Scored then it shows that he might not start under Klopp.
The Welshman scored fewer goals and registered fewer assists than all three Liverpool players, and granted he played fewer minutes than the trio but his numbers are notably lower.
Bale also sustained the lowest average rating out of the quartet, 6.88, and that may not necessarily improve at a new club.
Also, while the 30-year-old did average more shots per game than Firmino and Mane, so you think his goal tally would be a bit higher.
So with that in mind, it’d be a gamble for Bale to pursue a club who may just keep him on the bench when their first-choice options are 100%.
While Liverpool haven’t been linked to a move for Bale recently, you feel if they were, Bale should ignore Ince’s advice and go somewhere else.
Even though on paper, the idea of Bale would look promising to any Liverpool fan.
