12 of the most popular English football returns including Portsmouth cult hero ahead of Gareth Bale's proposed Spurs move
How English football stars have fared on returning to former clubs
Tottenham Hotspur are keen on bringing Gareth Bale back to the Premier League in a huge move, seven season after he departed for Real Madrid. He netted more than 100 goals for the Spanish giants in 251 matches, winning a raft of trophies including two La Ligas and four Champions League titles.
The old adage is that you never go back, that it wouldn’t be the same. In recent English football history that has been the case in some circumstances but there have been incidents of success, even if it is short-lived.
We have taken a look at some of the hits and misses of players returning to a former club. Click and scroll to find out how certain stars got on.