Nuno Espirito Santo is the new Tottenham Hotspur manager, and there are a number of players who could benefit from his coaching.
One player who is expected to flourish under Nuno is Matt Doherty.
The Irishman was excellent under the Portuguese gaffer at Wolves and he’s incredibly well-suited to a 3-4-3 system.
However, there is another player who could be reborn under Nuno at Spurs, and that’s Gareth Bale.
Of course, right now Bale isn’t a Spurs player, having returned to Real Madrid at the end of his loan spell, but Spurs reportedly have the option to bring him back on the same terms next season, and under Nuno, that’s a move they’d be wise to make?
So, why is Nuno the perfect manager to get the best out of Bale? Well, the answer may lie in his usage of Adama Traore at Wolves.
There are a number of comparisons to be drawn between Traore and Bale, they’re both wingers, they’re both absolutely rapid, but perhaps most poignantly, they’ve struggled for fitness at times during their careers.
It’s no secret that Bale’s body has let him down in recent years, he’s rarely been able to play a full 90 minutes in the past 18 months and he’s often been at his best when utilised as a super-sub.
Traore had a similar issue during the beginning of his Wolves career, with the muscle-bound attacker often struggling to conserve his energy when he started games, meaning that he was more often than not used as a substitute.
Indeed, 21 of Traore’s first 29 league appearances for Wolves were off the bench, but he was still one of the Midlands club’s most consistent attacking threats.
“Whether it’s 90 minutes, or a half, 10 minutes or whatever, I want to show what I can do,” Traore said at the time – and boy did he show what he could do.
Nuno’s usage of Traore in his early days at Wolves showed that he knows how to get the best out of a player even if they can’t play an entire match, and that could be game-changing for Bale.
We saw last season that Bale still has the talent to be an impactful player at this level, but Jose Mourinho couldn’t quite strike the right balance with the Welshman.
Nuno’s utilisation of Traore during those early days at Wolves may be a good omen for Bale if he returns to Spurs, and if he’s allowed to play under Nuno in his 3-4-3, he may be able to return to the type of form that had Alan Shearer describing him as ‘unbelievable’.
Matt Doherty may benefit from Nuno arriving in north London, but Bale could be reborn if he’s allowed to work with the former Wolves boss.
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