Bale and Coutinho, united by Premier League uncertainty

The Premier League transfer market will close on Thursday 8 August. For yet another campaign, the English will leave their squads settled long before the rest of the continent, allowing them to focus entirely on their competition.

Meanwhile, there are two players who are very much looking forward to that date in Spain. On the one hand, Gareth Bale said goodbye to the possibility of signing for China's league, and now only contemplates the Premier League as an escape route.

His feeling is echoed by Barça rival Philippe Coutinho. The Barcelona player, probably the most ruinous signing in the history of the club, could regain some of his value in the English market, which is why the Camp Nou board hopes that a serious offer from a Premier League club materialises. 

Both have shown their willingness to stay and succeed in Madrid and Barça, but the two clubs want to get rid of them, although Real Madrid have been considerably more upfront about it. The Brazilian is running out of options. Liverpool already said it was not looking for his return, Manchester City has no interest in him and Chelsea cannot sign any players. 

Arsenal and Manchester United are the second-best placed for his signing, according to 'Sport'. Arsenal have already spent everything they had to spend on Pépé and cannot afford a player with Coutinho's pricetag.

The 'red devils' also have Gareth Bale in their sights. City and Liverpool don't want him and Arsenal and Chelsea can't sign him because of their transfer ban, although the Welshman could still return to Tottenham.

However, with Old Trafford close to signing Dybala, the options would be exhausted without a transfer from Paul Pogba. That's why 'AS' insists that Real Madrid and Barcelona would be open to finding a solution similar to what was done with James and Bayern Munich a few years ago.

In that case, PSG, Bayern or even Juventus could potentially accommodate these two players before the start of La Liga, only two weeks from now.