It was just this week that Jose Mourinho was warning Tottenham fans to expect a very different Gareth Bale from the one who starred at White Hart Lane several years earlier.
After a slower start to his return to north London than the more optimistic supporter had hoped for, Mourinho warned that Bale is not the same blistering winger he was previously.
“Seven years is a long, long, long gap,” the Spurs boss said. “So which player in the world is the same as he was seven years ago? Sometimes they’re not better or worse, they’re just different players.
“For example, you look to [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi, and compare them with seven years ago. They play in different areas, different positions.
"They transform their qualities to try and explore their qualities in other responsibilities in the tactical system of their teams. I think it happens with the majority of the players, so for sure he is a different player.”
Quite how Bale will be used by Mourinho this season remains to be seen, but it’s clear Spurs will not lean on the Welshman as they did during his first spell with the club.
Bale still possesses physical gifts. He is quick, powerful, excellent in the air, and a handful for defenders to contain, but it is understandable that his athleticism has declined somewhat over the years.
A 31-year-old who has suffered a vast array of injury issues and has not played regularly for two seasons is, as Mourinho says, very different to a 24-year-old approaching their prime.
And so Bale is slowly adapting to a new role, one we maybe saw a hint of during Sunday’s victory over Brighton.
After a disappointing showing in the Europa League defeat to Royal Antwerp on Thursday night, Mourinho turned to Bale in the 70th minute, introducing him for Erik Lamela on the right flank.
It took Bale three minutes to reward Mourinho’s decision.
At 1-1 and with Spurs in desperate need of a goal, Bale found a pocket of space inside the Brighton penalty area, drifting in from the right in the hope of being supplied by a cross from the left.
The excellent Sergio Reguilon duly obliged, cutting onto his right foot after receiving Toby Alderweireld’s crossfield pass and flighting a lovely cross right onto Bale’s head.
He directed his header into the bottom corner and ultimately won the game for Spurs.
It was the first time Bale had scored for Tottenham since May 2013, seven years and 166 days ago. It is the 43rd Premier League goal of his career, and it illustrates that Spurs have goalscorers throughout their squad.
While Harry Kane and Son Heung-min have grabbed the headlines so far this season, relying on two stars is risky, to say the least.
Last term, when Son and Kane were absent, Tottenham's attacking play declined sharply. Mourinho experimented with the little options available to him, even using Dele Alli as a centre-forward at times.
Now, the picture is very different, as he explained earlier this season.
“Last season we had lots of problems without a strike force and without winger and attackers in some parts of the season. I look at my side now and I have so many options,” he said following Spurs’ Europa League over LASK.
One of those options is Bale. Of course, the Welshman would have hoped – and maybe even expected – to earn a starting role. It was a salivating prospect to see him join up with Son and Kane in a frightening front three. So far, though, that has rarely happened.
But perhaps that is alright. Bale does not have to be the star who carries the team. Spurs don’t need him to be. In fact, with Lucas Moura, Lamela, and Steven Bergwijn all involved, he might not even have to start very often.
At this stage, he does not have the legs to play consistently, as Mourinho confirmed in his post-match press conference.
“He doesn't have 90 minutes in his legs yet,” he said. “We are using the Europa League to get him minutes and when we can in the Premier League.
“He is of course getting better and better and better. He will start again on Thursday but he will not play 90 minutes. I will use him in the right way.”
This tentative reintroduction to the Spurs squad might not be the championed role that many hoped for Bale, but it is still crucial to the team when dealing with a long, arduous, testing season that challenges more than just the starting 11 players.
For now, Bale is a super-sub. In future, that may change. But whatever role he plays, he provides versatility and depth to an improving Spurs frontline, and that is invaluable.
