• Premier League

Bale will become world's best - Redknapp

ESPN staff
April 18, 2011
Gareth Bale beat team-mate Rafael van der Vaart to the PFA Player of the Year award © PA Photos
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Harry Redknapp has warned Tottenham Hotspur's rivals that Gareth Bale, the PFA Player of the Year, still has plenty of room for improvement.

The 21-year-old landed the award after a season that has yielded seven Premier League goals from 25 appearances, as well as a string of devastating performances in the Champions League.

Bale announced his arrival as a world-class talent by scoring a hat-trick against Inter Milan in the group stage last October, before terrorising them again in the return game at White Hart Lane, contributing two assists as Spurs ran out 3-1 winners.

And now, after beating off the likes of Nemanja Vidic and Samir Nasri to the Player of the Year prize, Redknapp insists it is only a matter of time before he is hailed the planet's best in his position.

"He's got the lot really, it's just whether he becomes the world's best left-back or left-sided midfielder," Redknapp told Sky Sports. "Both options are open to him, he's such a talent. You look at the people who have won the award in the past, and it's an amazing achievement for a kid of that age.

"It's mind-blowing when you've seen who's won it, so he's in fantastic company - and he deserves to be. He's getting there, but he's still got plenty to learn, and he'll learn that. He's so young and he can only get better. We've not even seen what he's capable of doing I don't think. There's a lot more to come from him."

Arsenal's 19-year-old midfielder Jack Wilshere was the winner of the Young Player of the Year award.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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