Jose Mourinho has refused to speculate over talk of Gareth Bale's imminent return to Tottenham Hotspur, as the Real Madrid man closes in on a dream homecoming to his former club.
The Welshman has endured a difficult last few seasons in La Liga, having fallen out of favour at Santiago Bernabeu.
He originally joined Los Blancos in 2013 from Spurs in a world-record deal, where he proceeded to prove his worth across a memorable string of performances, helping to fire them to domestic and international glory.
Yet his relationship with the coaching set-up at Madrid, led by Zinedine Zidane, has soured in recent years, with a move to China ahead of last season pulled at the last minute, and just 20 games notched up in the susbsequent campaign.
The 31-year-old is expected to take a flight on Friday to London to iron out the final details of what is widely expected to be a season-long loan move back to the Premier League, but Spurs boss Mourinho - who left Madrid only months before Bale arrived seven years ago - has shut down chatter on the matter, citing a respect for the fact he remains currently contracted in the Spanish capital.
"I cannot comment, I don't comment on something that I don't know," the Portuguese stated after his side came through a Europa League qualification victory against Lokomotiv Plovdiv in Bulgaria, thanks to late goals from Harry Kane and Tanguy Ndombele.
"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."
Bale is not expected to feature immediately upon his return to Spurs, with the player still nursing the after-effects of a knee injury.
Nonetheless, he may prove to be a much-needed cog in Mourinho's plans, with his Madrid team-mate Sergio Reguilon also expected to join him after both players were previously courted by Manchester United.
Tottenham lost their Premier League opener to Everton at the weekend - with another former Madrid man, James Rodriguez, helping to condemn them - and face a hectic three games in five days now, starting on Sunday with a trip to Southampton, followed by a Carabao Cup clash against Leyton Orient on Tuesday and a long journey to Macedonia to face Shkendija on Thursday.