Expert issues ‘unprecedented’ Gareth Bale claim as Tottenham stance emerges
Gareth Bale needs to play top-level football in preparation for the World Cup – and a return to Champions League side Tottenham would fit the bill.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
Bale, 32, will be without a club when his Real Madrid contract expires at the end of June.
Wales boss Rob Page has stressed that the forward needs regular game time ahead of the mid-season World Cup in just under six months’ time.
BBC Sport reported on Wednesday (15 June) that Spurs have cooled their interest in re-signing Bale for a second time but are still monitoring his situation.
Dinnery argues that it would be “unprecedented” to go into a World Cup with barely any game time and that Bale must now angle for a move to an elite side.
“It’s almost unprecedented for a player to go into a World Cup finals with almost no game-time in the last 12 months,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“We know Bale’s hierarchy of needs. Wales is at the top. For himself and the supporters, he wants to be in a position where he can go out there and perform.
“For that reason alone, you need to be playing week in, week out. You need to go into the tournament in peak physical condition. You need to ensure you’re protecting yourself and you can only do that if you are playing regularly.
“He didn’t have that at Real Madrid. He had around 200 minutes of domestic football this year.
“For the recent qualifiers, he came through with his own personal training plan. By his own admission, he struggled in terms of fatigue and tiredness.
“In the Championship, you might be able to get away with that. We know he’s been linked with Cardiff. But on the world’s biggest stage, you aren’t getting any second chances.
“This will be his swansong for Wales and he wants to make history. He will want to make sure he’s performing at the very best possible level in the build-up.”
Bale spent the 2020-21 campaign on loan with Spurs, scoring 16 times in 34 appearances.
He netted 56 times in 203 games during his first spell at the club.
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