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Gareth Bale favours a return to Tottenham: Is a summer move realistic?

Gary Pearson
Gary Pearson

Hotspur HQ

EIBAR, SPAIN - MARCH 10: Gareth Bale of Real Madrid reacts during the La Liga match between SD Eibar and Real Madrid at Ipurua Municipal Stadium on March 10, 2018 in Eibar, Spain . (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

What better way to open the new state-of-the-art stadium for the 2018-19 season than to reintroduce Gareth Bale to the Tottenham faithful? 

Sound like fantasy?

The idea isn’t as farfetched as some people think, particularly with Manchester United being dumped unceremoniously and, quite frankly, embarrassingly out of the Champions League by an average, underperforming Sevilla side.

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Bale has long been sought by Jose Mourinho and his gang of unscrupulous, bottomless pocketed Red Devils. And it’s also true that the former Tottenham man once favoured a move to Theatre of Dreams until, under Mourinho’s rein, it recently became the Theatre of Unimaginative Pessimism. Sure, United is still comfortably in second place, but a player of Bale’s genius needs to be unharnessed, empowered to autonomously demonstrate his inventive, innovative nature. He can’t be micro managed, nor should his boundless talent be stifled or suppressed.

Under Mourinho’s restrictive, pallid management style, Bale would be nothing more than a bald eagle with clipped wings, a lion pulled cruelly from the wild to suffer the rest of his life suppressed behind bars in a zoo, meekly getting by on routine and structure.

It’s no surprise then that reports out of Spain, via Diario Gol, suggest that Bale’s thinking has since altered, the Welshman now reportedly favouring a return to North London. Watching United bore the world to death against Sevilla will have that effect on an ingenious character.

Tottenham’s current wage structure is not conducive to a player of Bale’s swollen Galacticos salary. But it’s a forgone conclusion that Daniel Levy will be forced to amend his frugal wage structure significantly if he’s to keep the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, and Jan Vertonghen.

So why not, to bring one of the world’s most luminous players back to where he grew into a household name, make a bold, brazen exception? Having knocked him down the pecking order at Real Madrid, his recent spate of injuries over the last few seasons are disconcerting.

But he’s still only 28 years old and is a truly wondrous talent. Plus, a portion of his heart still remains at Spurs, and his performances would reflect that heightened sense of emotional attachment.

The benefits, in my humble opinion, far outweighs the risks. Tottenham badly desire a left-footed player of his quality, and all signs point to the Welshman thriving under Mauricio Pochettino’s management style. He’d let the gifted Welshman off the leash, and in turn Bale would represent Spurs’ final puzzle piece, lifting them above heads and shoulders above United in one fell swoop.

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Pulling off this type of coup would also put Manchester City on notice, making sure Pep Guardiola’s side aren’t the unassailable force they presently are.

Do you think Spurs have the financial capacity to lure the legend back to North London, and how would he fit in with Kane, Eriksen, Alli, Son Heung-Min, Lucas Moura and the rest of Spurs’ current star-studded lineup?

Gary Pearson

Gary Pearson

A freelance sports journalist, Gary primarily focuses his attention on football coverage (proper football, that is). He is a sports aficionado and has lived in five continents – Africa, Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Currently residing in the mountainous region of Canmore, Canada, his family hails from jolly old England while he spent the lion's share of his formative years in Calgary, Canada, home of the Calgary Stampede, the 1988 Winter Olympic Games and the 1989 Stanley Cup Champions. He is an ardent Flames and Tottenham Hotspur supporter and dreams of more fruitful days, when the Flames once again lift Lord Stanley aloft, a seemingly impossible goal if the past few decades is anything to go by. Spurs are closer to glory, but are still starving for the rapturous joy their supporters so obviously deserve.