Yorke: Bale would be a fantastic addition

Former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke would love to see Tottenham star Gareth Bale join the English Premier League champions.

Reports on Sunday suggested United manager David Moyes had been given the go ahead to chase Bale and former Old Trafford favourite Cristiano Ronaldo.

Moyes played down the reports during a press conference, but said the club were looking at the ‘best players’.

Speaking in Australia on Monday, Yorke said Bale, 23, would be a ‘fantastic’ signing for his former club.

“We’ve still got a lot of quality within the Manchester United team at this present time, but the manager is always looking to strengthen,” Yorke said.

“People like Gareth Bale – in terms of what he’s done, the player he has become over the years. He would be a fantastic player to join Manchester United.”

United missed out on signing Thiago Alcantara, whose move from Barcelona to Bayern Munich was confirmed on Sunday.

Central midfield is the area in need of reinforcement in the wake of Paul Scholes’ retirement at the end of the 2012/13 season.

Veteran Ryan Giggs, 39, may operate alongside Michael Carrick in the centre of midfield, and Yorke was full of praise for the Welshman.

“He’s the best. You just have to look at what he brings – his personality, his presence, his aura on the football pitch and on top of all that he’s a fantastic athlete,” Yorke said.

“He’s a first-class player and he’s continued to do well.”

Yorke, who scored 123 Premier League goals for five different clubs, also spoke about Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke.

Benteke requested a transfer from Villa – one of Yorke’s former clubs – on July 8, with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham reportedly interested in signing him.

Yorke said the 22-year-old Belgium international would be tested in his second season after scoring 19 goals in his debut Premier League campaign.

“He certainly burst onto the scene this year. It’d be interesting to see how he gets on this particular year because the first year is always the easy bit,” he said.

“He looks an outstanding prospect and of course there’s a lot of interest in him at this present time. He certainly caught the eye.”