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Manchester United made substantial progress under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the 2019-20 season, particularly following the signing of Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes in the January transfer window.
The Red Devils finished third in the Premier League, securing Champions League football for the 2020-21 campaign.
This progress has been built by Solskjaer, who has influenced the club to invest in young talent like Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Bruno Fernandes, Daniel James and most recently Donny van de Beek from Ajax. All of these players have the potential to serve Manchester United with distinction for the next five years.
However, what became increasingly obvious as Manchester United's season reached its conclusion with a disappointing defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League semi-final is that they were lacking a cutting edge in the biggest games of their season.
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This is evident in their performances in the cup competitions where they lost in the semi-final of the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League.
Manchester United are a club with a history built on winning trophies. In the long term, it will not be considered a success to finish in the top four and reach the semi-finals of cup competitions.
Going into the 2020-21 season, the Red Devils need an experienced head who can lead this young, talented squad to success. They need someone who can make an impact on the biggest occasions, when fine margins are often the difference between winning and losing.
That man for Manchester United could, and should, be Gareth Bale.
Why Manchester United should sign Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale is desperate to leave the club after a frustrating season where he made just 20 appearances and scored three goals as Real Madrid won La Liga.
In a recent interview with Sky Sports, the Welshman, who has been frozen out by Zinedine Zidane, firmly pointed the finger of blame at the club for refusing to allow him to leave, adding that he would consider a move back to the Premier League if an offer arose:
"We'll see what happens, we have plenty of time in this transfer window and a couple of others as well. Time will tell but mainly I think the reason is that the decision is in Real Madrid's hands. I tried to leave last year but they blocked everything at the last second. It was a project I was excited for but it didn't materialise."
"There have been other instances where we have tried to go but the club won't allow it or they've done something. It's down to the club.I want to play football, I am still motivated to play football, so I guess it's on the club. They are in control of everything. I have a contract, all I can do is carry on what I am doing and hopefully something comes up."
As things have turned so sour during his time in Spain, it would be easy to forget the extraordinary levels of success Gareth Bale has enjoyed. Since joining Real Madrid in the summer of 2013 from Tottenham Hotspur, he has played 251 times for the club. In that time he has scored 105 goals and claimed 68 assists.
Having played 17,926 minutes, the Welshman averages a goal involvement every 103 minutes. Most importantly, he has been a crucial player in some of Los Blancos' greatest triumphs of the last seven years.
In his first season at the club (2013-14), Gareth Bale scored what is widely considered to be one of the best goals of his career to defeat Barcelona in the final of the Copa Del Rey. He also scored in the Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid, putting Real Madrid 2-1 ahead in extra time as they went on to win the match 4-1. The following season he scored in his third major final for the club as Los Blancos won the FIFA Club World Cup in 2014.
Gareth Bale also had a starring role in the 2015-16 Champions League win, assisting the early goal for Sergio Ramos and scoring a penalty in the shoot-out. Although he had a peripheral role in 2017, he was brilliant in 2018, coming off the bench to score a spectacular overhead kick and then adding a second after a goalkeeping mistake by Loris Karius.
However, since that point, the Wales international has found himself firmly on the periphery of proceedings, frozen out by the club, despite the fact that they blocked his proposed move to China in the summer of 2019.
Manchester United should now make a move for Gareth Bale. Although he is now 31 years old and has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, he would be a valuable asset to add to the squad. He has a proven track record of rising to the big occasion, not only for Real Madrid but also for his country. That is the kind of player that the Red Devils need to make the difference over the next couple of seasons. Although his wages will be sizeable, Manchester United should be able to secure his services for a nominal transfer fee.
Some will disagree with this, pointing to the example of Alexis Sanchez, the last big-name player that Manchester United signed and gave enormous wages to. The Chilean was an enormous flop in Manchester, playing 45 matches and scoring just 5 goals, before being shipped out to Antonio Conte's Inter Milan.
Having said that, Gareth Bale is a completely different character to Sanchez. He may have become disillusioned at Madrid but it is understandable when you consider how much he has achieved during his time at the club, and the poor treatment he now gets from the manager, fans and media.
He will be hungry to prove the doubters wrong and to demonstrate that he still has what it takes to make it at the top level of the game. He is a player with a point to prove.
Gareth Bale might be something of a gamble but for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he is a risk worth taking.
