During an interview with Football Insider, Noel Whelan had his say about Gareth Bale. In the aftermath of a reported feud between the Welshman and Jose Mourinho during the midweek fixture against Everton, the former professional football has labelled Bale as the worst signing of the season.
“I honestly do not know what is going on. It’s probably the worst Premier League transfer of the summer, but yet the biggest and most exciting but it’s turned out not to be.”, Whelan told Football Insider.
I’m really confused with this one because I think we’ve waited that long for it to happen, now you’re wondering why have you bought him in? What is going on with this player and this club and this manager that you can’t get the best out of him?”, he added.
Gareth Bale’s Struggles At Spurs This Season
Gareth Bale rejoined Tottenham Hotspur in the summer in a season-long loan deal from Real Madrid. The Welshman returned to north London in the hopes of reviving his career following a difficult spell under Zinedine Zidane.
Unfortunately, things have turned out just as bad for the 31-year-old at Tottenham, with the player often struggling with injuries. While the club did initially take a cautious approach with Bale regarding his integration into the first-team, it appears Jose Mourinho has lost all confidence in the winger after he repeatedly failed to perform at the required level.
Mourinho himself does deserve some of the blame for being reluctant to offer him starting opportunities. But for a player of Bale’s calibre, a tally of just four goals in just 16 competitive matches is indeed quite unacceptable, even though most of his appearances came from the bench.
Is Bale The Worst Signing Of The Season?
A host of players have struggled to live up to the expectations since moving to a new club this season, with Bale among the most high-profile ones, alongside the likes of Timo Werner, Donny van de Beek and Willian.
However, Werner has still played a key role in Chelsea’s attacking unit, despite his lack of productivity while van de Beek has been unlucky with lack of game-time. Also, van de Beek doesn’t attract a huge salary, unlike Bale, who is currently the highest-paid player in the Premier League.
The Welshman, therefore, does make a strong case for being the worst signing of the season, largely due to his large paycheck. But fortunately, it seems Tottenham’s bitter rivals Arsenal have had the worse time, with the acquisition of Willian.
Unlike Bale and van de Beek, the Brazilian has been given a host of starting opportunities despite failing to provide any real quality in the final third. It is also fair to point out that Tottenham are only paying half of Bale’s wages, so it could perhaps be a bit harsh to label the Real Madrid star as the worst signing in the Premier League this season.
