Gareth Bale could transform Tottenham from “European contenders to Premier League title challengers”, says Harry Redknapp, with Spurs urged to reinvigorate their ranks by rescuing a familiar face from a testing spell at Real Madrid.
A Wales international forward became the most expensive player on the planet when leaving north London for the Spanish capital in 2013.
Success has been savoured at Santiago Bernabeu, but lows have started to outweigh the highs over recent seasons.
Bale is now firmly frozen out at Real and has opened a door up for a move to be made in the current window – with a return to the Premier League not being ruled out.
Redknapp feels Tottenham and Jose Mourinho should be heading any queue of suitors, with the perfect opportunity presenting itself for a game-changing addition to be made to a squad that could only muster a sixth-place finish in 2019-20.
The former Spurs boss told The Sun: “Of the possible destinations, if Bale went back to Tottenham to team up with an already lively frontline you could see Spurs do some serious damage. Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Dele Alli and Bale.
“If it were my call, I’d throw all four of them on together and step back to watch lift-off. Bale could change Tottenham from European contenders to Premier League title challengers.
“He would give everyone a lift. And when I think of Dele playing the supporting role behind those three it makes my skin tingle. Dele plateaued over the last few seasons — but has shown some signs of starting to get back to his best.
“It was always likely to happen to him because he was so young when he burst on to the scene.
"But Spurs need reinvigorating — and Bale would do just that.”
Redknapp is not the first to suggest that Bale should be pushing for a move back to Tottenham.
Spurs legend Micky Hazard has done likewise, while former fan favourite Jurgen Klinsmann has told talkSPORT: "Time goes by so fast as a player and you cannot waste it. This is the worst punishment for a player to be on the bench.
“The most important thing for every player is to be on the field and to play. When this doesn’t work out, sooner or later you have to come to a conclusion and consider a move.
“There is a point in time when you become a professional player when you would like to earn a decent amount of money that you can put on the side to feel a bit more safe, but once that goal is achieved there is only one other thing that matters – playing and scoring goals and building your playing record.
“You want to leave the game one day in your 30s and say ‘OK, look at my career there, I managed to score in X amount of teams and X amount of goals in different competitions’.
“Money doesn’t matter anymore. Money has no influence on that decision right now that Gareth has to make, but there are personal elements to it. There is family and lifestyle things to consider.
“A player like him, we would like to admire him week in, week out on the television. As a Tottenham fan, I would love him to come back to Spurs.”