Gareth Bale shirt number confirmed after completing Tottenham transfer

Gareth Bale has been handed the No.9 shirt after his return to Tottenham.

Spurs have confirmed the winger has completed his return to the club after a loan deal was struck with Real Madrid.

And despite speculation he could return to his previous No.3, the club have confirmed that he will take the vacant No.9 instead.

Bale wore No.3 during his breakthrough campaign, in which he burst onto the scene with a famous Champions League double against Inter Milan at the San Siro in 2010/11.

After that season, he switched to the No.11 but that shirt was not available due to being held by Erik Lamela, one of the players Spurs signed with the huge fee they landed when they sold Bale to Real Madrid.

Bale was initially handed the No.16 shirt when he arrived from Southampton as a teenager, but he switched to the No.3 after one season.

He wore No.11 during his time at Real Madrid, where he won four Champions League titles before things turned sour under Zinedine Zidane.

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Players who have worn No.9 have not tended to set the world alight in recent times for Spurs, with Vicent Janssen, Roberto Soldado and Roman Pavlyuchenko the latest three to wear the number.

The same is true with No.14, with flops Georges-Kevin N’Koudou and Clinton N’Jie the most recent two to be given the number, although Bale’s Madrid teammate Luka Modric had a more enjoyable time wearing it during his time at Spurs.

Bale will not feature against former club Southampton this weekend after he was ruled out through injury.