Gareth Bale arrives in London to complete Tottenham return
Wales winger Gareth Bale has arrived in London on Friday to complete his return to Tottenham.
The move is near completion, but Jose Mourinho would still not confirm the signing on Thursday.
The winger left Spain to put the finishing touches on a season-long loan deal from Real Madrid.
Spurs have been in discussions over the last few days to sign 31-year-old Bale, seven years after he left for a then world-record fee, and it appears all financial hurdles have been overcome.
Mourinho played a straight bat to questions about Bale's move on Wednesday and did so again after watching his side survive a scare in the Europa League second qualifying round against Lokomotiv Plovdiv.
The Portuguese said: "I cannot comment, I don't comment on something that I don't know."
"For me, at this moment, until I'm told Gareth Bale is a Tottenham player, I still think and feel and respect the fact that he's a Real Madrid player, so I'm not going to comment on a Real Madrid player."
The Spanish club are understood to be paying a large chunk of Bale's sizeable salary.
Bale's return will tug on the heartstrings of Spurs fans after a hugely successful first stint at White Hart Lane.
The Cardiff-born player swapped the north London club for the Spanish capital in 2013, winning four Champions Leagues during a medal-laden spell at the Bernabeu.
But Bale has found himself marginalised under coach Zinedine Zidane and spent the last two years struggling to get in the side.
His return to Spurs is also timely for Mourinho after a dismal start to the campaign against Everton on Sunday, when they looked void of all creativity in a sluggish 1-0 loss.
They also needed two goals in the final 10 minutes to overcome Bulgarian outfit Plovdiv, having gone a goal down with 19 minutes remaining.