Gareth Bale should be considering a return to Tottenham if he still has the “passion” to play at the highest level, says Danny Murphy, with the Welshman continuing to endure a tough time at Real Madrid.
Zinedine Zidane has taken to freezing the 31-year-old forward out of his plans at Santiago Bernabeu.
A lack of game time, along with ongoing questions of his commitment to the Blancos cause, is sparking more transfer talk in the latest window.
Various landing spots have been mooted for Bale, from China to MLS, and he has no shortage of suitors in the Premier League.
Spurs would welcome the opportunity to bring a familiar face back onto their books, having sanctioned a record-breaking deal back in 2013, and Murphy believes Jose Mourinho should be enquiring as to the availability of a player he was heavily linked with during a spell as Manchester United manager.
The former Tottenham midfielder told talkSPORT of Bale: "To make a top footballer these days, the love and passion for it must be from within you from a young age to want to be a footballer.
"Now Gareth might be an exception to that... but maybe he's lost that passion for it.
"Maybe the lifestyle, the family contentment; he loves his golf, the climate and the finances are good.
"So maybe he's not like everybody else... but playing football is something you can't do forever.
"He's damn good at it. People like watching him play. He's a wonderful footballer and he's done so much in the game but he's still only 31.
"I'd be saying to him, 'go play mate. Just enjoy it. Go somewhere you enjoy it'.
"We can talk to Madrid and they might have to pay you half to get you gone but they'll do that anyway because they're saving half. There has to be a way out.
"I think the one place for Gareth is Tottenham. He's loved there already and he's got the fans on board.
"Could he find a way of going back there? That for me would be great for Tottenham.
"Even if it's for two or three years, go back to where you made yourself, enjoy yourself and help Tottenham get back to being competitive."
Bale previously spent six years on the books at Tottenham, with 55 goals recorded through 203 appearances and the PFA Player of the Year award collected on two occasions.