Ex-Liverpool player claims that no great young players want to play for Mourinho

Former Liverpool midfielder Stan Collymore has criticised Tottenham’s pursuit of Gareth Bale and insisted that young players don’t want to play for Jose Mourinho.

Spurs are said to be working round the clock on a deal to bring Gareth Bale back to Tottenham according to the Express.

Real Madrid have reportedly informed Spurs that they will not allow the Welsh superstar to leave on loan and so the two clubs are working on a permanent deal.

However, the report claims that the deal is unlikely to go through due to the 30-year-old’s bumper wages. Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett has also been dismissive of the possibility of the pacey forward moving away from Spain this month (BBC Sport).

Collymore insists that Mourinho’s pursuit of Bale is indicative of the Portuguese head coach’s ‘backwards-looking’ approach and insisted that the move would be similar to Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr coming out of retirement and reforming the Beatles.

In his column for the Mirror, the former Liverpool star said: “I Can’t think of another signing Tottenham could make this month who’d epitomise what Jose Mourinho is about in 2020 than Gareth Bale.

“Because bringing the Welshman back from Real Madrid would be uninspired and backwards-looking — exactly the opposite of what Spurs actually need.

“It’d be like Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr announcing they were coming out of retirement and reuniting The Beatles.

“In that, we know how much we’d all love it to work, but we also know it will never be the same as it was the first time round.

“Let me ask you this: ‘Has anyone else noticed that no great young players now want to play for Mourinho?”

Spurs Web Opinion:

I actually agree with Collymore that re-signing Bale would be a backwards move for the club. Given his age and injury record, it is clear that there are better options out there in the transfer market. The wages he would demand will likely put him out of Tottenham’s reach anyway.

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