Gareth Bale In Demand; How Would he Fit In At United or Real

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White hot form: Gareth Bale celebrates scoring Spurs fourth goal against FC Twente in the midweek Champions League match

White hot form: Gareth Bale celebrates scoring Spurs fourth goal against FC Twente in the midweek Champions League match

Harry Redknapp has told Jose Mourinho that he cab watch Gareth Bale all he likes - but the Welshman won't be leaving Tottenham for Real Madrid.

Bale's scintillating form since the second half of last season has led to him being linked with a variety of clubs and Mourinho was linked with the left-sided flyer while at Inter Milan, as well as more recently since moving to Madrid.

But while Redknapp has said Bale has matured into 'one of the best players in the world', he said Spurs are in the process of building a side and have no intention of selling.

'I read in the papers the other day that Gareth’s performances for Spurs have already caught the attention of other teams around the world - including Real Madrid and their manager, a certain Jose Mourinho,' wrote Redknapp in his column in The Sun.

'Jose certainly knows a player when he sees one. But one thing is for sure. I am not letting Gareth go anywhere. 'Tottenham is a team on the up and we are building something at White Hart Lane.

Similarities: Both Ashley Cole and Bale began their careers as left-wingers

'Mourinho can enjoy watching Gareth all he likes but he will be going nowhere.'

Redknapp puts Bale on a pedestal with Ashley Cole as the best players of their kind in the world and paid tribute to his strength after coming though a difficult early period at White Hart Lane.

'(Bale) has come through an amazing 12 months and matured into one of the best players in his position in the world,' said Redknapp.

'Just over a year ago, he had this awful jinx hanging over him where he had not played in a winning Spurs team.

'Now, I would say he and Ashley Cole are two of a kind in this country and the two best left-backs in England.

'I do not make comparisons lightly but he and Ashley Cole are quite similar and that can only be a massive compliment to Gareth.

'Cole started out at Arsenal as a left-winger. Gareth was a left-winger as a lad too.

'The legacy means they can run, attack, score goals and they have amazing engines.

'I marvel sometimes at the staying power of young Gareth. He tracks back superbly from attacking positions, can shoot, dribble and is so comfortable coming out of defence.

'The main difference between him and Ashley Cole is that he is Welsh - more’s the pity.

'I would go so far as to say that Gareth is the best player to come out of Wales since Ryan Giggs. As an Englishman, I am highly disappointed he is Welsh.

Emerging nation: Bale and his Wales team-mate Aaron Ramsey will be a threat to England in their Euro 2012 games

'Gareth is a lovely lad, grounded despite all those qualities that are starting to shine through. 'He is an integral part of our team both in the Premier League and the Champions League this season. 'Plus, I hope, an incentive for him to become an even better player in the next 12 months.'

Bale's quality, as well as the emergence of young Welsh talent such as Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey and West Ham's Jack Collison, have convinced Redknapp that England won't have it all their own way when the two nations meet in the Euro 2012 qualifiers.

'If you look around, Wales are producing some good young players again," he said.

'Aaron Ramsey at Arsenal is another to come from the Valleys, while Cardiff City and Swansea City are doing well in the Championship and Welsh football is looking strong once more.

'England will have two tough games facing Wales in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, that is for sure.'

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Start as you mean to go on | Bale has been on form from the opening day

Congratulations Tottenham fans, this is what the Champions League is all about. Winning important games in front of sell-out, raucous crowds thanks to the individual exploits of a couple of star players... who will then quickly be targetted by the competition's true heavyweights.

It is, as many clubs have found in the past, very much a double-edged sword. Spurs may be in a more financially favourable position to reject multi-million pound bids for their major assets than in seasons past, but after an ominous start to the domestic season from Manchester City and the rest of last season's top three, a successive qualification for Europe's most lucrative competition looks another major challenge.

And, with a player so clearly at home at the highest level as Gareth Bale, it is hardly a surprise to learn, as Goal.com UK exclusively have, that Manchester United are intent on capturing the player next summer — even if they might face competition from Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid.

Just two (proper) games into his Champions League career, the young Welshman looks perfectly at home at the game's highest level. In his first game he was impressive despite Spurs failing to capitalise on a 2-0 lead in Germany against Werder Bremen, and then on Wednesday at White Hart Lane he tore apart FC Twente's shell-shocked defence with breathtaking ease.

And that's without highlighting his domestic form, which he has built on from the back-end of last season to see him become an almost unstoppable threat whenever he is given license to push forward.

It's his skill-set, as much as his current form, that will have admiring suitors queuing around the block. Rampaging up and down the left flank, Bale assumes a position that has traditionally been hard to fill. Able to play full-back — even if, to offer some criticism, he does need to work on his defensive prowess — this season the 23-year-old has proven himself a nightmare to play against from a roaming left-wing position. His pace and power has all-too often proved too much for opposing right-backs, and the number of free-kicks and penalties he has won, along with the chances and goals he has created, only serve to illustrate that fact.

With interest almost inevitable, either in January or next summer, the question is simply which club is most likely to land a player who is quickly becoming one of Europe's hottest properties. Goal.com UK analyses the two clearest runners and riders:

Real Madrid, especially under new manager Jose Mourinho, have no problem making a splash in the transfer market, but Bale will have to keep going at his current rate — and Spurs will have to progress far in the Champions League — for his profile in Spain to be raised high enough for his multi-million pound signing to appease the relevant political factions that seemingly always need to be accounted for when Madrid open the chequebook.

The club spent heavily again in the summer transfer market, but that doesn't mean next summer will be a quiet affair. Mourinho still wants a left-back, and Bale could be seen as the closest approximation of the Portuguese tactician's unattainable favourite, Ashley Cole, as an overlapping attacking threat (while maintaining a defensive stability) to provide a mirror image of Sergio Ramos on the other flank.

But Real would appear to have little use for the Welshman as a midfielder or winger — which may be where his immediate future lies, especially at the very highest level. He could play as a left-wing forward, but that would have to effectively see the end of another fabled attacking player (most probably Kaka) as they would not be any berths left for a whole host of Real's stars.

And would the youngster even want to make the move abroad, as tempting as Real would be, when even the bright lights of London initially seemed to slow his Spurs career? That is perhaps the trickiest question answer. But Real have managed to persuade British players to make the switch in the past (Michael Owen, David Beckham, Steve McManaman) and could surely do so again.

RIGHT WING
ATTACKING MIDFIELD
LEFT WING

Cristiano Ronaldo

Mesut Oezil

Gareth Bale

Likelihood:

An offer is highly possible, and would be hard to reject. But there are too many variables to see it as the likeliest eventuality. Bale's profile on the continent would need to be raised to make him a viable 'Galactico' purchase (which his transfer fee would automatically prescribe him), while British players have traditionally shied away from foreign transfers — and by all accounts Bale is more introverted than most.

If even Spurs might accept that major interest in arguably their most valuable asset is nigh-on inevitable, then the current climate in football might give them more comfort than usual that they will be able to keep hold of Bale.

In the past the club's star players — Carrick, Berbatov, Robbie Keane — may have been lost when the big fish came swimming in their pond (albeit, if one positive can be found, at favourable transfer fees) but that was in a time when more clubs had more money to spend.

Now, however, cash is often hard to spare, and Spurs will be somewhat relieved to note that Bale's most likely pursuers, Manchester United, aren't rolling in cash.

Retaining Champions League football is the best way Spurs can hold onto Bale, but even if they don't succeed in that aim, perhaps only Real Madrid and Manchester City can immediately find the resources necessary to complete a deal, and neither might provide the most attractive of options for the Welshman — the former because of the life-changing move abroad involved, the latter because they wouldn't immediately be in a position to challenge for major trophies either.

Manchester United are likely to be the Welshman's personal favourites, but their financial situation will prove a massive stumbling block. If Ferguson and Co. can't find a way to overcome it, that could ensure Bale remains at White Hart Lane after all.

F.raon.I.R SG

He's probably only half the player giggs was at this age.

Htok22 SG

he shud go to chelsea instead!

CKeer SG

Bale is can take good freekicks. I'd love to see him at United if not chances will be wasted by Nani.

KaurexO_o SG

would really love to see him in a United shirt

dragg SG

he should stay put at spurs.