OPINION
When Gareth Bale was at Tottenham he looked every inch a Ballon D’or winner in the making.
The Welshman was lethal, the kind of player who could, and often did, singlehandedly win matches through a mix of blinding talent and sheer determination to do so.
His move to Real Madrid, when devastating at the time, was completely unsurprising, but things haven’t always gone to plan for the forward in Spain.
Despite putting in several years of impressive performances, the general consensus is that he has never quite hit the heights that he was expected to by his employers, and it doesn’t real come as much of a shock that he is repeatedly linked with the exit door.
The latest in these rumours links directly to former club Spurs, with the Mirror reporting that Los Blancos are willing to offer the 74 cap international, plus £50 million cash, for playmaker Christian Eriksen.
If these reports are true, then Tottenham must do everything in their power to resist the bid.
Quite simply, Eriksen is borderline irreplaceable for Spurs, even with a player of Bale’s talent.
The Dane is just entering the prime of his career and he perceives the game and pulls strings in a way that most of us cannot even begin to comprehend.
By comparison, Bale is fast approaching 30, and doesn’t look capable of influencing matches in the same jaw-dropping manner that he did during his first stint in north London. Swapping the two would be a huge step backwards.
There’s a reason that Madrid are willing to offer him in part exchange for Eriksen, and for all the nostalgia and buzz that would surround his return, Spurs must not fall for the bait being dangled before them.