Jose Mourinho is nothing if not a busy man. In between managing a Premier League football team, writing 12-minute speeches for his press conferences and engaging in personal duels with Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw and anyone else who wants a piece of him, the Portuguese has also reportedly been turning on the charm to secure Manchester United some superstar signings.

The Spanish paper Sport says Mourinho has “convinced” Gareth Bale to quit Real Madrid this summer and move to Old Trafford. It doesn’t say how the Welshman was convinced by Mourinho, or where, or even why; just that he was.

Apparently Mourinho “started to convince” Bale last summer and “believed he had convinced” him before the European Super Cup in August. But he was wrong – he hadn’t convinced him. But now he has. And Bale will soon be a Man Utd player.

READ MORE: Gossip – Jesus ‘stalls over Man City talks’ and more

READ MORE: Gossip – Barca want ‘Luke Shaw’, United ‘target Umiti’

READ MORE: Gossip – Liverpool make contact with Werner

We have heard this before, of course. About 11,000 times before, roughly. But this time it is different, maybe, because “some say” (impeccable sourcing there from Sport) Bale does not want to remain at the Bernabeu while Zinedine Zidane remains as manager.

The French legend has dropped him for recent important Real games, whereas in Mourinho Bale believes he will have a manager who is nice to him. Eek.

Man City and Chelsea ‘on red alert’

Another allegedly unhappy Real Madrid player is Isco, who added a few million quid to his value this week when banged in a hat-trick for Spain against Argentina.

At the Bernabeu, however, he is not guaranteed a starting spot, and said after the 6-1 win, “In Madrid I don’t have the confidence a player needs.”

According to the Mirror, this comment has put Manchester City and Chelsea “on red alert”, which seems to happen to them a lot. Both clubs are said to be “long-term admirers” of the playmaker and are “monitoring his situation” ahead of a possible summer bid.

City’s need for a new attacker could be greatest if, as the Mirror predicts, they fail to tie Raheem Sterling down to a new contract.

The Premier League leaders are reportedly ready to “double” the in-form Englishman’s wages by giving him a “50 per cent” pay rise from his current earnings of £170,000 a week. Is doubling the same as a 50 per cent increase? I’ll let the mathematicians among you work that out.

It might not matter anyway, because the tabloid suggests that Sterling could say no. His sparkling recent displays have apparently put him “on the radar” of Europe’s top clubs – “including Real Madrid”.

READ MORE: Gossip: Manchester United’s Pogba told ‘hit the road’

READ MORE: Gossip – Neymar ‘refuses to rule out Man City move’

This is leaving Pep Guardiola with a “major battle” to keep the 23-year-old. Or in other words, the negotiation mind games have already started as both parties try to agree on their percentages.

Elsewhere, Tottenham are interested in Sporting Lisbon midfielder Bruno Fernandes but would have to fork out £87m to sign the 23-year-old (A Bola), Arsenal have held discussions with German side Freiburg about signing their £30m-rated Turkish centre-back Caglar Soyuncu (Mail) and Everton are in a contract dispute with former boss Ronald Koeman after it emerged the club are paying 90 per cent of the Dutchman’s wages as Holland manager (Liverpool Echo).

But to be fair the Toffees are still benefiting from the excellent signings Koeman made for them, such as Michael Keane and Davy Klaassen.