Jose Mourinho pushing for club-record Gareth Bale bid

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has reportedly urged the club's hierarchy to lodge a club-record attempt to pursue Gareth Bale from Real Madrid this summer.

The Special One recently appeared to concede defeat for Bale after the Welshman featured the European Super Cup against United, which Los Blancos won by a 2-1 scoreline.

However, The Sun brings a fresh twist to the story with Mourinho desperate to get his hands on Bale before this month's transfer deadline. The report adds that the manager is confident that an agreement could be reached privately and has asked Ed Woodward to make contact over a potential £100m transfer.

Bale is currently on a weekly salary of £385,000 a week, and United would be willing to offer him a significant rise to £500,000 a week in order to seal an Old Trafford move.

Manchester United have plenty of room to adjust with their salary structure after they released both Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who were commanding a combined weekly package of around £670,000.