Gareth Bale made his first Premier League start since returning to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday lunchtime, starting the dramatic 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.
After stepping off the bench against both West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion in recent weeks, Jose Mourinho made the decision to hand Bale his first Premier League start since May 2013 against the struggling Baggies.
The Wales international started in a frightening-looking front three alongside Harry Kane, who netted an 88th minute winner to temporarily spend Spurs top of the Premier League table, and South Korean ace Son Heung-min.
Bale managed 78 minutes on the right flank before being replaced by Brazilian Lucas Moura.
His performance highlighted that he is still working his way back to full fitness, with his quality in the final third still not up to the standards expected of him.
However, with time, Mourinho will be hopeful that Bale, who has scored one goal and claimed one assist since returning to the club, will rediscover form somewhere close to what he showed during his previous spell in the Premier League.
But should Bale start to find his full potential once again and light up the Premier League with his talent and quality, Spurs may wish to test the water and lodge a bid to sign Bale on a permanent basis.
Prior to sealing a move to Spurs back in September, Bale's career at Real Madrid appeared to be all but dead and buried, with Zinedine Zidane axing him from his first-team plans.
Now, according to reports in Spain, Mourinho is hopeful of landing Bale on a permanent basis in a €15million deal.
In this day and age, a €15million fee for a player of Bale's quality seems like an encouraging price, meaning Daniel Levy, the Spurs boss, could be tempted to test Madrid's resolve and launch an offer for the Welshman.
