‘Doesn’t look interested’ – Jenas claims Spurs star wants to play in a different position 

Jermaine Jenas has claimed that Gareth Bale would prefer to play as a centre-forward rather than out wide.

Bale has primarily been used on the right-side since arriving at Spurs, although he has tended to drift into central areas rather than hogging the touchline.

The Welshman has not managed to impact matches when opportunities have come his way and looks a long way off from forcing himself into Tottenham’s starting eleven.

His most recent start came in Tottenham’s clash against Brighton last week where the 31-year-old came into the team for the injured Harry Kane.

The on-loan Real Madrid star was once again played on the right side by Mourinho, who preferred to start with Son Heung-min down the middle before bringing Carlos Vinicius on at the start of the second half.

However, Bale once again put in a lacklustre display and has subsequently found himself being an unused substitute against Chelsea and West Brom.

Jenas believes that his former teammate would prefer to play down the middle just as he does for Wales.

The former Tottenham midfielder told BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily Podcast : “I always thought that when they brought Bale in, my opinion was that I feel like Gaz wants to play centre-forward.

“I think even when you watch him play for Wales, he doesn’t play in the wide areas anymore, he’s always up there as a centre-forward.

“I would have thought the minute Harry Kane got injured that would have been music to Gareth Bale’s ears, because he’s thinking ‘well this is what I’ve been wating for’ but unfortunately, he doesn’t look interested in playing at the minute and that’s the God’s honest truth.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I did think that Mourinho might try to play Bale as a number 10 in Kane’s absence but the Spurs boss revealed a couple of weeks ago that the Welshman does not see himself as a striker and that he prefers starting on the right. However, that simply has not worked for the 31-year-old and so perhaps it is worth trying him out as a number 9 or a number 10 when the Europa League resumes.

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