Peter Crouch has revealed that Liverpool were once close to signing Welsh superstar Gareth Bale.
In his latest column for the Daily Mail, Crouch remembers hearing that the Reds had registered an interest in signing Bale back in the summer of 2007, shortly before he made the move to White Hart Lane.
Interestingly, he also believes Championship side Nottingham Forest also came close to signing Bale for just £2million during his initial struggles at Spurs.
He said: “When I was at Southampton there was a buzz about two kids at the academy — Theo Walcott and Gareth Bale. We heard all sorts of positive reports and I knew there was interest from Liverpool about signing Gareth in the summer of 2007.
“Our paths did not cross for another couple of years, until we were together at Tottenham. The young lad I saw initially had some confidence issues and had not enjoyed playing at left-back. The talk was that he was going to go to Nottingham Forest for £2million.
“Then, though, he started to find his feet. He got faster, stronger. His confidence began to grow and gradually all those special things we had been told about when he was a kid started to come true.”
Bale went on to have a superb impact at White Hart Lane, which saw him seal a dream move to Real Madrid in 2013. After initial success in Spain, though, things have turned soured in recent years.
Bale’s future at the Bernabeu remains the subject of much speculation, despite agent Jonathan Barnett’s repeated insistence that the winger is happy to stay in the Spanish capital.
According to Marca, Real could now be ready to let Bale leave the club for nothing, despite the 30-year-old still having two years to run on his current deal at the club.
Bale has so far played 18 times this season, netting three goals in all competitions.
