Real Madrid are confident Steven Gerrard wants to join Jose
Mourinho's Bernabeu revolution, according to reports in Spain.
The nine-time European Cup winners have sounded out the
Liverpool captain's agent Struan Marshall several times and believe
the player is open to the move, says daily sports paper AS.
However, Madrid are reluctant to pay anywhere near the mooted
£25million asking price for a player who recently turned 30.
Scoring for fun: Gerrard could be hitting the back
of the net for Real Madrid
as next season well as England where he netted the opener against
the USA
Mourinho wants to add experience, but Bernabeu president
Florentino Perez has made it clear they cannot afford to match last
summer's lay-out of more than £200m.
Interest in Ashley Cole has cooled because of the high fee that
Chelsea would demand, with a move for Lazio's Alexander Kolarov - a
Manchester City target - thought to be imminent.
Madrid are also in a strong position to sign right back Maicon
from Inter Milan and winger Angel di Maria from Benfica, leaving
the central midfield position as their most pressing headache.
Come to me Stevie: Mourinho tried to sign Gerrard
when he was Chelsea boss
They have put aside plans to sign Daniele de Rossi for now
because of Roma's insistence that the midfielder is not for sale
and they will not pay over the odds for Gerrard.
Valencia's David Silva has been presented as an alternative - as
has the fanciful option of signing Cesc Fabregas from Arsenal -
while Athletic Bilbao's Javi Martinez, Inter Milan's Thiago Motta
and Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger are also in their
sights.