Have Tottenham learned their lesson? 'Gareth Bale-money' transfer flops must be avoided as Spurs plot Harry Kane-funded spending spree

Spurs paid £7 million to sign Vlad Chiriches from Steaua Bucharest, which looked like a shrewd piece of business at the time given the Romanian's versatility. Chiriches could operate as a centre-back, full-back or in defensive midfield, but was never able to force his way into Tottenham's starting XI on a regular basis.

He made 43 appearances across all competitions over two seasons before being sold to Napoli for £5m, but also struggled for minutes in Italy. Napoli loaned Chiriches to Sassuolo in 2019 and he joined the club permanently the following year.

The defender played in 62 Serie A games for Sassuolo, and also featured in the Italian top-fight for Cremonese last term, but was powerless to prevent them from suffering relegation.

Paulinho was compared to Chelsea legend Frank Lampard upon his arrival at Spurs, having proven himself as a goalscoring midfielder with bags of potential at Corinthians. Unfortunately, the Brazilian was unable to live up to those expectations in north London, as he managed to score just 10 goals in 67 matches.

Spurs offloaded Paulinho to Chinese outfit Guangzhou Evergrande after two mediocre seasons, and it appeared he would never return to Europe. However, Barcelona made a surprise swoop for him in 2017, and he helped them win a La Liga and Copa del Rey double in his solitary year at Camp Nou before returning to Guangzhou.

The former Brazil international went on to join Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ahli in 2021, but re-joined Corinthians last year and is still going strong at the age of 35 in his homeland.

Unlike the first two players on this list, Nacer Chadli can actually look back on his time at Spurs in a relatively positive light. Signed for just £7m from Dutch outfit FC Twente, the winger would go on to score a respectable 25 goals across his first three seasons at Tottenham, albeit without offering anywhere near the same kind of threat as Bale did.

Tottenham sold Chadli to West Brom in 2016, making a £5m profit in the process, and he played another two seasons in the Premier League at The Hawthorns before joining Monaco. He failed to make an impact at Stade Louis II, and after a loan spell at Anderlecht he completed a switch to Istanbul Basaksehir.

Chadli returned to the Belgian top-flight on loan at Westerlo in 2022-23, but is now back in Turkey to see out the final year of his Basaksehir contract.

Spurs broke their transfer record for the second time in the 2013 summer transfer window by spending £26m ($33m) on Valencia striker Roberto Soldado, who scored 30 goals in his final season at Mestalla.

He couldn't replicate that form in the Premier League, though, finding the net just seven times in 52 outings, eventually falling behind Kane in the squad pecking order. Tottenham jumped at the chance to get Soldado off their books when Villarreal came in with a £10m bid in 2015, and he went on to take in spells at Fenerbahce, Granada and Levante.

Reflecting on his failure at Spurs during an interview The Guardian a year after his exit, the Spaniard said: "I think in the end what let me down at Tottenham was my head; for whatever reason, it wasn’t right. I found I was getting easy chances on the pitch and I’d miss them; the tiniest things would go against me."

Etienne Capoue emerged as one of the most consistent midfielders in France during his five-year stint at Toulouse, and even made it into the Ligue 1 Team of the Season in 2012. He had seven caps for France under his belt when he joined Tottenham, too, but struggled to make an impact in north London.

He was restricted to just 12 Premier League appearances in both the 2013-14 and 2014-15 season, and only scored two goals for Spurs, who then decided to sell him to Watford. Capoue rebuilt his reputation at Vicarage Road admirably, playing in 181 games for the club before joining Villarreal in January 2021.

The best moments of Capoue's career have come with the Yellow Submarine, who won the 2020-21 Europa League after his Man-of-the-Match display in their final victory over Manchester United. The Frenchman also helped Villarreal reach the Champions League semi-finals the following season, and remains a key member of the squad at the ripe old age of 35.

Erik Lamela was the last of the seven players on this list to leave Spurs, as he spent nine years on their books following his £25m move from Roma. The Argentine struggled with injuries throughout his spell in England, but still made 255 appearances for Tottenham and had his fair share of memorable moments.

Spurs fans will always remember Lamela fondly for his outrageous Rabona effort in a derby clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in 2020-21, which ended up winning the Premier League Goal of the Season award. He found the net 37 times for the club in total while also laying on 47 assists, and played his part during the successful Mauricio Pochettino-era.

Lamela joined Sevilla in a swap deal involving Bryan Gil in the summer of 2021, and helped the Spanish giants win the Europa League last season - scoring a penalty in their shootout victory over former club Roma in the final.

Christian Eriksen is without question the most successful signing Spurs made with the Bale money, as his record of 69 goals and 90 assists in 309 appearances underlines. After joining the club from Ajax for just £11m as a 21-year-old, Eriksen gradually established himself as one of the best playmakers in European football.

The Dane played a key role in Tottenham's emergence as title contenders under Pochettino and was a standout performer during their unlikely run to the 2018-19 Champions League final. Eriksen rejected a new contract before joining Inter in January 2020, and it's fair to say that Spurs haven't been the same since his departure.

The midfielder went on to win a Serie A title in his second season at San Siro, but he suffered a major health scare with Denmark at the European Championship just a few weeks later. Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch and had to be resuscitated while the whole football world watched on in horror. Thankfully he made a miraculous recovery and was soon able to return to the game after being fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).

Inter had to let him go due to Serie A rules prohibiting ICDs, but Eriksen returned to the pitch at Brentford and earned a move to Manchester United with his impressive performances in the Premier League for the Bees. Eriksen won the Carabao Cup in his debut season at Old Trafford and remains one of the most technically brilliant players in the game.