Bale can have same impact at Spurs as Ibrahimovic did at Man Utd, says ex-Tottenham boss Sherwood

Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood believes that Gareth Bale can have a similar impact with Spurs as Zlatan Ibrahimovic had during his time at Manchester United.

Bale is closing in on a sensational return to Tottenham, where he starred from 2007 to 2013. 

The Wales star's agent Jonathan Barnett has said that Tottenham are "close" to signing the Real Madrid winger, though he has cautioned that no deal is done yet. 

The 31-year-old has scored 105 goals in 251 matches at Real Madrid, having won four Champions League crowns to go along with two Liga titles.

Bale has recently fallen out of favour with manager Zinedine Zidane, however, and has made no secret of his desire to leave the Spanish capital.

As a return to north London grows closer, Sherwood has likened Bale's potential impact to another veteran who starred under Jose Mourinho. 

“We know what Jose is like, he likes big players, he brought Zlatan in on a free transfer when he was at Manchester United and it worked to great effect, they picked up a trophy," Sherwood told talkSPORT.

Ibrahimovic scored 27 goals during the 2016-17 campaign at Old Trafford, as United took home the Europa League.

More recently, Mourinho was far from pleased with Tottenham's performance in their Premier League opener on Sunday, a 1-0 home defeat to Everton after which he branded some of his players as "lazy."

Sherwood believes that Tottenham's weak attacking effort against the Toffees will convince the club that a move for Bale is even more necessary. 

“I think it’s a good deal. Spurs didn’t look good [against Everton]. I know it’s hard to be critical after just one game, but they didn’t look fantastic, especially in forward areas," Sherwood said. 

“I think it’s an easy sell to [Spurs chairman] Daniel Levy, because Real Madrid will be absorbing probably around three quarters of his wages, which still makes him a high earner at Tottenham but it’s a no-brainer to do.

“I don’t think Daniel would need too much convincing, because he knows what he’s done at the club before. Gareth will come in with hero status and is going to lift everyone.

“But the pressure will be on him, because everyone will say, ‘go on Gareth, do what you did before,’ which was absolutely incredible.”