GARETH BALE’S Tottenham return could be completed by the weekend after he reportedly passed a medical.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is as desperate as manager Jose Mourinho to tie up a £20million season’s loan for the wantaway Real Madrid attacker.
Gareth Bale is thought to prefer returning to Spurs than joining Man UtdCredit: AP:Associated Press
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho might allow himself an extra big grin as he seems near to signing Gareth Bale, who he wanted when he was at RealCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Now Spain’s EFE outlet claim the 31-year-old has got the green light to move after health checks at Real’s Valdebebas training ground.
SunSport exclusively revealed Tottenham’s frantic efforts to put a package together for the Wales superstar, who exited for the Bernabeu in 2013 for a then-world record £86m.
Real are keen to get Bale off the wage bill — but are willing to continue to pay up to 50 per cent of his astonishing £650,000-a-week salary.
Bale, whose Bernabeu contract runs out in the summer of 2022, won four Champions League titles with the Spanish champions but has played just 100 minutes since football resumed in June.
Spurs appear sure to beat Manchester United in the hunt for Bale.
Old Trafford boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is thought to have switched attention to the ex-Southampton wideman after losing patience in his pursuit of Borussia Dortmund’s England flier Jadon Sancho.
But Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett confirmed Bale’s preference for his old club.
Barnett said: “Gareth still loves Spurs. We are talking. It’s where he wants to be.”
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And he also told Sky Sports: “There’s a long way to go on some issues, but without doubt Gareth is closer to leaving Madrid than at any time in the last seven years.
“The deal is complicated, but there’s reason to believe a deal is close and things could move very quickly if discussions continue to go well.”
Even if they are sorted by the weekend and Bale returns to the UK, he would then have to go into quarantine for 14 days under government rules to control Covid-19.
That would leave him unable to link up with Jose Mourinho’s squad until October 2, with Spurs facing a trip to Manchester United the following day.
Mourinho hinted Bale could be the missing piece of the puzzle at Tottenham – as he went all cryptic at the prospect of the Welshman’s return.
He said: “A squad is a puzzle and when a new signing completes the puzzle it’s a great feeling for the team.”
Asked specifically about Bale, he said: “Gareth Bale is a Real Madrid player and I don’t comment on players from other clubs.”
The Spurs boss did reveal he tried to sign Bale when he was in charge of Real Madrid, adding: “It was not possible to do it in my time there and the season after I left they brought Bale to the club.”
Jose Mourinho refuses to comment on Gareth Bale being linked with Tottenham return
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
