Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of Real Madrid duo Sergio Reguilon and Gareth Bale on long term contracts.
At long last! Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of Real Madrid Sergio Reguilon and Gareth Bale for a fee of €30 million on a five-year contract, while getting the Welshman on a season-long loan which includes €22 million in wage and loan fees.
Reguilon first came under the spotlight for Madrid during Julian Lopetegui’s term with the club in the 2018/19 season. As an academy product, he had made excellent strides with the Castilla side, but his progress to the first team was delayed due to the presence of a certain Marcelo occupying the spot.
After an excellent debut campaign, the Spaniard joined Sevilla on loan after Madrid announced the signing of Ferland Mendy – a player who has gone on to become a mainstay in the role. With the Seville outfit, Reguilon took his game up a notch, winning the Europa League with an assist in the semi-finals of the competition, and a name in the Europa League team of the season.
✨ #HolaReguilón ✨ pic.twitter.com/4QM2VgcJkz
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 19, 2020
Over the course of the off-season, he has been linked to a move away from the Spanish capital, who were quite reluctant to let him go given his development. They insisted on including a buy-back clause for him, which was enough for Manchester United to back off from the deal. Spurs, however, did not shy away from signing the 23-year-old. Consequently, his five-year contract has a €45 million release clause included.
Accompanying him is Gareth Bale, who returns to Spurs after seven years with Real Madrid, who he joined for a then world-record fee of €100 million. In his seven years at the club, he won four Champions League titles, two La Ligas and a Copa Del Rey, also winning the Man of the Match in the UCL final against Liverpool in 2017/18.
Prior to this, however, Bale had enjoyed six spectacular years with the North London outfit, during which he was awarded the PFA Player of the Year twice for his excellent strides in the 2010/11 and 2012/13 season respectively. He was primarily played as a winger in both these campaigns and rediscovered his best self playing there despite initially joining Spurs as a fullback.
? ? 16:03:11:09#BaleIsBack ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/thso8VzctF
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 19, 2020
Last season was probably not his best, showing, though, playing only 16 games, scoring two goals and two assists in the process. During the latter half of the campaign, Bale was slowly shunned away from the team, spending his time on the bench.
This included the time when he was not included in their Champions League Round of 16 away tie vs Manchester City. Zinedine Zidane later explained that this decision came at the discretion of the 31-year-old who did not want to be included for the game.
If Mourinho can get the best out of Reguilon, and help Bale find his lost love for football, it is hard to imagine Spurs finishing outside the top four, especially after completing the signing of Matt Doherty and Pierre-Emile Højbjerg. They lost their season opener against Everton, but it will be interesting to see the rest of the season unfold with the new players.
