Bundesliga winger tipped to replace Bale in £27m Tottenham switch

Nicolas Gonzalez Stuttgart

Tottenham will reportedly look into signing Stuttgart attacker Nicolas Gonzalez this summer, as Gareth Bale prepares to head back to Real Madrid.

Spurs have been tracking Gonzalez for some time, although Jose Mourinho denied any talk of a potential swoop back in January. As for Bale, the Wales skipper’s season-long loan is due to finish at the end of the season.

The 31-year-old only has just over a year remaining on his contract at the Bernabeu. Despite talk of extending his stay in north London, Bale appears to have already plotted his next move.

Speaking ahead of Wales’ 3-1 loss to Belgium on Wednesday evening, he said: “My plan is to go back, that’s as far I have planned.

“I think the main reason I came to Spurs this year was to play football first and foremost. Going into the Euros I wanted to be match-fit.

“The original plan was to do a season at Spurs and after the Euros still have a year left at Real Madrid.”

The temporary nature of Bale’s second spell at Spurs means Jose Mourinho will be in the market for a replacement.

And Gonzalez and Lille’s Jonathan Bamba have both been linked with summer moves to Tottenham, according to Sky Sports.

Stuttgart are said to be looking for a fee of £27m (€30m) for 22-year-old Gonzalez.

The forward, who can play wide or through the middle, has scored six goals and added two assists in 15 Bundesliga appearances this season.

Gareth Bale planning to return to Real Madrid

Gareth Bale planning to return to Real Madrid

Gareth Bale plans to end his Tottenham stay at the end of the season and return to Real Madrid.

The player still has three years remaining on his contract, however, meaning Stuttgart can demand a decent fee.

Bamba, 24, is a pacy France Under-21 who has scored 20 times in 86 appearances for his club.

Both Tottenham targets are considerably younger than the injury-plagued Bale and would represent better long-term value.

Bale faces volatile Real return

Meanwhile, former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has claimed that Gareth Bale will have to win over the club’s “volatile” fans if he is to perform well on his return to Spain.

Calderon insists that Bale will still find it tough to win back support, even if his form has improved on loan at Tottenham.

Bale Kane Tottenham TEAMtalk

“Fans are very volatile, it depends on his performances,” the former chief told talkSPORT.

“If he’s going to play well and score goals like he did when he came then fans will back him.

“But if he’s not then problems will come again.

“This club is very demanding. I remember with Zidane they were booing him for the first five months, They thought we’ve paid a lot of money for a player that wasn’t playing as they expected.

“I’m sure fans will be backing him if he does things well.”

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