Harry Redknapp: Gareth Bale to Manchester United "could happen"

Harry Redknapp has admitted that he would not be 'surprised' if Gareth Bale left Real Madrid to join Manchester United before the end of January.

The Wales international, who moved to the Bernabeu from Tottenham Hotspur in a world-record fee of £85m in 2013, has been linked with the Red Devils for some time.

Bale's teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona star Neymar have also been touted as potential big-money targets for United manager Louis van Gaal, but Redknapp, who coached Bale during his time as Tottenham boss, believes that the Premier League giants will move for the Welshman.

In his column for the Evening Standard, Redkanpp wrote: "Gareth Bale leaving Real Madrid for Manchester United could happen. I just get a feeling that somebody over here is driving that move. It keeps coming up and it wouldn't surprise me, given he's never truly settled there and can't speak the language very well.

"If he went to United this month, they would suddenly have a realistic chance of winning the title because he could go there and score 15 goals in the second half of the season. There aren't many players in the world who can have that kind of impact but Gareth is one of them.

"I don't know if he will come back but the United move makes a lot of sense, and all that talk has to be coming from somewhere."

Bale has scored nine goals in 15 games this season.