In football they say ‘never go back’.

Players or managers having underwhelming second spells at clubs where they’re beloved by fans has been a consistent trend throughout history.

Kenny Dalglish’s second spell as Liverpool manager was unsuccessful, Robbie Fowler was a shell of his former self when he came back to Anfield in the mid-2000s, while Joe Cole’s second spell at West Ham was incredibly unremarkable.

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However, for some reason or another, Tottenham Hotspur have consistently been able to buck this trend.

Jermain Defoe left Spurs for Portsmouth in 2008, but within a season he was back, and he netted more times during his second spell than he did in his first.

Jurgen Klinsmann came back to Tottenham on loan after his incredible first spell, netting nine in 15, saving the club from relegation, while Robbie Keane also had a decent second spell with the club after re-joining from Liverpool.

Spurs are once again about to bring a former player back into the fold, with Gareth Bale’s loan move from Real Madrid being finalised, and once again the idea that footballers should never return to their former clubs has been discussed.

The London club have profited from bringing former players back in the past, and there’s no reason why that can’t happen again, especially with a player of Bale’s calibre.

Ok, the Welshman hasn’t looked the most committed footballer in the world over the past 12 months, pretending to fall asleep on Real Madrid’s bench a few months ago, but his treatment by Zinedine Zidane seems to have sucked all of the motivation out of his game.

There’s no reason why he can’t rediscover his love for the game at Spurs, he’s still putting on blockbuster showings for Wales, and if there is any club that will get his will to win back it’s the club that helped him become the superstar he is today.