• Premier League

Scholes: Gareth Bale could make Man Utd title contenders

Paul Scholes believes Gareth Bale would be a "perfect" signing for Manchester United and would propel them into the status of title contenders.

Scholes, who won 11 Premier League titles and two European Cups as a United player, thinks Bale could have the same impact as Eric Cantona or Wayne Rooney.

Bale is enduring a difficult time at Real Madrid and had his car attacked after Sunday's Clasico defeat to Barcelona. Scholes feels the Wales international would get the unstinting support of the United crowd.

"My feeling is that he would be perfect for Manchester United," Scholes wrote in his Independent column.

"Of course, as a fan of my former club I would like to see him there but, looking at it objectively, I always felt that Bale was a natural fit for United as he developed at Tottenham from a left-back into one of the best attacking footballers in the country.

"He would be loved at Old Trafford. In return I believe he could turn Louis van Gaal's team into serious title contenders next season. In my years at United I witnessed some signings who, over their careers, transformed the fortunes of the team.

"From Eric Cantona when I was an apprentice, to Dwight Yorke, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney. These were great footballers who became great United players. Bale has the potential to make as much of an impact as any of them."

Bale was a United target for David Moyes when he left Tottenham for Real Madrid in a world record 85 million-pound deal in 2013.

And it is reported United would be keen to sign him if he became available but Scholes warned them that he could be at the Bernabeu for several years to come.

He added: "I get the impression that the only way Bale is going to leave Madrid is if the club tell him to go. As their record signing, he may yet believe that the time for that is a long way off but we have seen them do it with some big names in recent years, including Mesut Ozil and Angel Di Maria."

Bale won the Champions League and Copa del Rey in his first season with Real, scoring in both finals, and has contributed 38 goals in 83 games for them.

United broke the British transfer record to sign Di Maria from Real for an initial 59.7 million pounds in August but any deal for Bale would probably command a bigger fee.

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