BALE TIPPED

Giggs backs Bale to thrive on Premier League return

“I think it’s a good move for Gareth, it’s good for Spurs and good for the Premier League in general, to have someone like that who we can watch every week — Giggs

In Summary

• Bale, 31, secured a loan move from Real back to his former team last month, ending a tumultuous but trophy-laden seven-year spell with the Spanish champions.

• Meanwhile, Wolverhampton Wanderers captain Conor Coady has signed a new five-year deal with the football club to extend his stay at the Molineux Stadium until 2025, the Premier League club said.

Gareth Bale arrives at the Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre
Gareth Bale arrives at the Tottenham Hotspur Training Centre
Image: /REUTERS

 

Wales manager Ryan Giggs has backed Gareth Bale to put his troubled Real Madrid spell behind him and rediscover his best form following his return to Tottenham Hotspur.

Bale, 31, secured a loan move from Real back to his former team last month, ending a tumultuous but trophy-laden seven-year spell with the Spanish champions.

The Welsh forward won four Champions League titles during his time in Spain but found himself marginalised after falling out with manager Zinedine Zidane.

“He will play more regularly than he did at Madrid,” Giggs told British media. “I think it’s a good move for Gareth, it’s good for Spurs and good for the Premier League in general, to have someone like that who we can watch every week.

“He’s at a club he knows well with a very good manager and I think he’s said himself it’s like going back home.”

Giggs hopes regular game time for Bale would re-ignite his career, boosting Wales’ chances at Euro 2020 next year.

“It will be so much better if he is playing regularly. He will be sharper, will be able to play those two games in a short space of time,” Giggs, 46, said.

“He’s been able to manage it and produce performances because he looks after himself because of his quality and the experience he’s got, but it will be so much better when he is playing regularly.”

Bale will miss Wales’ Nations League fixtures against Ireland and Bulgaria due to a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Wolverhampton Wanderers captain Conor Coady has signed a new five-year deal with the football club to extend his stay at the Molineux Stadium until 2025, the Premier League club said.

The 27-year-old defender, who graduated from Liverpool’s academy, joined Wolves from Huddersfield Town in 2015 and helped the club gain promotion three years later.

“I’m honoured to play for this football club every day, so to sign a new deal is absolutely incredible,” said Coady in a statement on the club’s website. “I look at what this club has given me over the years, and it feels like home to me – it has done since the first day I came.”

Coady has not missed a Premier League game for Wolves since their return to the top-flight in 2018 and was rewarded with his first England cap last month.

Wolves, who are 16th in the Premier League after losing two of their first three games, face promoted Fulham on Sunday.