‘What was this all about?’: Pundit says £18m Tottenham man is past his best

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Tottenham slumped to a disappointing defeat against Brighton and the summer signing once again failed to impress

Gareth Bale continues to face scrutiny after turning in another underwhelming performance for Tottenham.

He was handed a rare start against Brighton on Sunday night in the absence of Harry Kane, but the Welshman did little to inspire confidence in a 1-0 defeat for Jose Mourinho’s men that leaves them sixth in the Premier League.

Since returning to London from Real Madrid on a season-long loan in September Bale has failed to hit his previous heights, and his showing at the Amex gave no indication that the impact of Kane’s absence can be mitigated.

Speaking on talkSPORT, former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan suggested the 31-year-old’s best days may be behind him, and took issue with the club’s decision to bring him back to the Premier League.

He said: “He wanted to go to China 18 months ago.

“Who wants to go to China if your career is in full flow? China is where you go to get paid, not where you go to develop your career.

“Irrespective of whether Tottenham are paying half of the £500,000-a-week this player allegedly earns or a third of it, they’re still paying the best part of £10m, they’re paying a third of his wages which might well be the case.

“They’re sitll paying 10 million pounds for a footballer. He didn’t find a vaccine for the world’s problems, he’s a footballer. His job was to come in and be fit for purpose.

“And if he isn’t fit for purpose, then you’ve got to look at the player, and look at him and say ‘Well, where are you really? What was this all about?’

“Back in the summer when it was announced, all the excitement and furore about Gareth Bale, I – without being the wise old owl that will go back retrospectively – wasn’t enamoured with it, because I think Gareth Bale is a busted flush.

“I think ultimately he is in a situation where for a variety of reasons, whether it’s injury or his relationship with Real Madrid, a significant part of this guy’s ability to compete at the highest level has been eroded.

“And it’s now being seen more clearly. We’ve lived in this world of saying ‘How the hell can this guy win Champions League finals for Real Madrid and yet not even get a look in?’, and now we’re beginning to see, possibly, some of the reasons why.

“It’s disappointing, because when you close your eyes and you have these iconic figures, or so-called iconic figures in your mind’s eye, you always want to see them at their best.

“And when Gareth Bale has come back we’ve seen nothing resembling that. And people say ‘Well he looks well against Wycombe’. WHAT?”