Before Gareth Bale exploded into one of Europe’s most feared players, the former left-back was once on the verge of being sold by Harry Redknapp Tottenham Hotspur.
Tottenham Hotspur firmly believed in the ability of the Welshman and had to convince Redknapp to change his mind about offloading the player.
The North London club’s data analysts provided the legendary Premier League manager with numbers which ended up convincing him to hand him a new role in the team which transformed his career.
The rest is history as Bale ended up becoming a key player in helping Spurs reach the Champions League under Redknapp all thanks to one key switch.
How Tottenham convinced Harry Redknapp to change Gareth Bale’s position
Damien Comolli has previously revealed how he used data to convince Harry Redknapp to change Gareth Bale’s role in the team from playing as a left-back to left wing.
The former Tottenham director initially had to convince Redknapp not to sell the winger and did so by suggesting a position change.
The youngster had a terrible winless record in matches for Spurs which presumably led to Redknapp wanting to offload him, however, data suggested that Bale could become an ‘outstanding winger’.
Speaking back in 2014, Comolli said: “I’ve been working with data since 2005 and 2006 in terms of recruitment. We did it at Spurs. We used data in terms of team selection.
“Spurs actually told Harry Redknapp where to play Gareth Bale, because he wanted to get rid of him. Data was showing Bale would be an outstanding left winger when they were playing him at left-back.”
Harry Redknapp wanted swap deal of Gareth Bale for Leighton Baines
Joleon Lescott later explained how Redknapp wanted to swap Bale for Leighton Baines at Everton due to his shocking winless record.
Lescott told Sky Sports: “Harry Redknapp wanted to swap him, I pulled Bainsey to one side and had a concertion with him and then he said, ‘They’re interested in swap for Bale’.
“One of the main reasons that didn’t happen was because Bale’s record was so bad that David Moyes didn’t want to swap.”
Gareth Bale’s shocking winless record for Tottenham
Up until 2020, Gareth Bale held the Premier League record for the longest streak of Premier League matches without a win.
Sheffield United’s Oliver Burke ended up breaking that streak during lockdown as he went 25 matches without a top-flight win.
The previous record was unwantedly held by the legendary Real Madrid winger who went 24 matches without winning.
Redknapp brought Bale on for a six-minute cameo against Burnley in September 2009 when the team were leading 5-0 to end his two-year wait for a win in North London.
