Reasons Gareth Bale doesn’t fit into Nuno’s Tottenham clear
By Gary Pearson
The reasons why Gareth Bale is not returning to Tottenham this season are clear when looking at Nuno’s plans for the club.
One could have predicted this outcome for the Welshman once Nuno was confirmed as Tottenham’s new head coach. While Bale still has a lot to offer before hanging up his boots, he doesn’t fit into the way Nuno wants his team to acquit themselves.
Keen on instilling a high energy, physical brand of football, Nuno expects all of his players to commit full-blooded efforts every time they lace up the boots. A relentless press is predicated on having the personnel to pull it off.
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Bale is unable to meet the demands of Nuno’s physically rigorous system. He is a luxury Spurs cannot afford to have under the Portuguese’s workmanlike philosophy.
When you consider the exorbitant wages Spurs would have been forced to dish out to extend Bale’s loan spell, the topic quickly became a non-starter for Nuno and his coaching staff.
Even with Real Madrid paying more than half of his swollen £600,000 weekly salary, Tottenham could not conceive of splashing out as much, if not more, on Bale as they do for Harry Kane.
Nuno also emboldens the importance of providing youth with a chance to shine. Chances for younger players to show their potential and worth diminish significantly with players like Bale on the squad. And that’s without speaking about Bale’s recurring injury problems which have kept him from maintaining full fitness for any extended stretch.
There is no doubting Bale’s match-winning abilities. We saw it in spats last season at Spurs.
He scored in bunches and was one of the main reasons Tottenham secured a spot in the Europa Conference League. But he never got going against elite teams and endured an inconsistent campaign that didn’t measure up to the funds being forked out for his services.
Overall it wasn’t the dream return everyone envisioned for Bale, but he can still be proud of what he contributed to the north London club in his relatively short time back at the club where he ascended to superstar status.