Crouch says people have “unrealistic” expectations about Bale, but he will come good

Gareth Bale made a return to the Premier League this season after seven years at Real Madrid.

Before he left Tottenham in 2013, he was one of the best players in the Premier League.

He singlehandedly helped Tottenham beat teams in his final season at the club.

He was known for his explosiveness in the English top-flight at the time, but his return hasn’t been the same.

When it was announced that Tottenham had secured a deal to sign him on loan for the rest of this season, fans were ecstatic and some were hoping to see the same player that left the competition in 2013.

However, Peter Crouch believes that those expectations are unrealistic, but he backs the attacker to come good.

He blames being cut off from the Madrid team in the last two years of his career as the reason why he has lost some of his former self.

He wrote on the Daily Mail: “It was unrealistic, Dave, for people to expect Gareth to come back from seven years in Spain and be the turbocharged winger who blew us away. In the years I played with him, I have never seen anyone who had such an engine — up, down, up, down at full pace for 90 minutes. 

“His last two years in Madrid were ruined by Zinedine Zidane effectively cutting him out and that much disruption has an impact on a player finding rhythm. One thing I have noticed is that he is cleverer in terms of how he times his runs and when he engages top gear.

“You also have to recognise how good Son Heung-min, Harry Kane and Steven Bergwijn have been for Jose Mourinho. Son and Kane were magnificent on the counter against Arsenal and the more I see them, the more I see genuine title challengers. Gareth will play his part to help, for sure. ”