Bale to make West Ham debut
Gareth Bale is set to make his first appearance back at Spurs next weekend after making progress in training following his loan from Real Madrid.
The 31-year-old, arrived back at Spurs carrying a knee injury but he has since fully recovered and will be involved in the Premier League clash against West Ham next Saturday.
Bale was left out of Ryan Giggs’ squad for the international break and he missed the defeat against England at Wembley to concentrate on his comeback to Spurs.
It was seven years after the Welshman departed North London in favour of a move to Madrid for a then world-record fee of £85m.
Spurs have agreed to pay a percentage of Bale’s wages – around 40% of his £600,000-a-week – and could extend the deal for longer than the current season if his return to North London is a success in 2020/21. It was reported last night that Spurs would have the option for a second year on loan, which would run into 2022 and take Bale to the end of his contract with the Spanish giants.
It was seven years ago when Bale scored twice in a pulsating February derby at Upton Park which unfortunately ended 2-3 with Bale scoring the winner in the last minute.
The West Ham team that day consisted of Jaaskelainen, Reid, O’Brien, Collins, Demel, Nolan, Jarvis, Diame, J Cole, O’Neil, Carroll
Gareth Bale could have signed for West Ham for as little as £3million in 2009 but the club turned down the offer.