There are reports that suggest that Gareth Bale might be `moving along` from Real Madrid and that Manchester United are inevitably linked with that rumour.  That wouldn`t surprise me as they seem to be linked with countless players from across the world on a daily basis - they seem more interested in collecting players than building a team - so maybe the Bale link is as tenuous as all the others.  We`ll see.

But let`s start with the sublime bit.   Gareth Bale was spotted by a Southampton scout playing for his school team in Cardiff at the age of nine.   He joined the Saints` fabled academy having attended their satellite training facility at Bath.  He progressed through the age groups until he made his first team debut for Southampton in April 2006 when, at 16 years and 275 days, he became the second youngest player ever to play for the Saints after Theo Walcott, who was 132 days younger.   Bale`s first game for Southampton was in a 2-0 victory over Millwall. (I was lucky enough to be there that day to see the undoubted quality in one so young,)

At this point it`s worth including a short video which the Saints made to celebrate the opening of their new training facility at Staplewood and in which a number of leading players, past and present, express their admiration for the club.  Bale makes it clear that the club always treated him well, encouraged his development and acknowledges that he `would not be where I am today had it not been for Southampton.`   Here it is:-

Of course, it wasn`t long - just 43 games and a year or so later - before Bale was snapped up by Tottenham for a substantial fee and following a productive time at White Hart Lane he proceeded even further up the football ladder to Real Madrid, where he has been since 2013.  He has had an interesting time there - the inevitable highs and lows - but he seems to have fallen out of favour, hence the speculation about a potential move away and the rumours of Manchester United`s interest.

And here`s where it gets ridiculous on the one hand and a tad disappointing on the other. He seems settled in Madrid with his young family and, as he has been there for seven years now, he perhaps should feel settled and a bit reluctant to move.  And why not, when he is being paid £600,000 each and every week which seems pretty ridiculous even for the parallel universe of professional football.  To add to the ridicule, Manchester United are supposedly willing to pay half that fee to take him on loan, with Madrid coughing up the other half - although Bale reportedly doesn`t fancy a loan deal.

Whatever the outcome, the thing that is a tad disappointing is that, rather than having any need whatsoever to chase the money, Bale doesn`t offer to come back to Southampton on a minimum wage to repay them for the formative years he spent learning his trade.  That would be nice, of course it would.   Trouble is, Southampton are perhaps more interested in building a team than making a statement they don`t need to make. But I hope for his sake, Bale does not find himself lost in a wilderness of his own making.

STOP PRESS :  It looks as if Bale might be on his way back to Tottenham, which must surely be a mere staging post on his eventual return to the south coast?  Is that yet another pig I see flying over my roof?