LONDON — Andre Villas-Boas has insisted that Gareth Bale will not be leaving White Hart Lane this summer despite Real Madrid’s very public pursuit of the coveted Tottenham forward.
Real have not hidden their desire to sign Bale, with their club ambassador Zinedine Zidane making a number of flattering comments about the Welshman, who scored 31 goals for club and country last season.
Yet Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy pledged not to let go of the north London club’s leading performers this summer, and Villas-Boas sees no reason why Levy will go back on his word.
“We have the pledge of the chairman that Bale is not going to leave the club,” the Tottenham manager is quoted as saying in the Madrid-based newspaper Marca.
Tottenham are reportedly trying to tie the player to a lucrative new £130,000 (S$256,700) a week contract and have promised to allow him to leave next summer should the club once again fail to finish in the top four in the Premier League.
Real’s partnership with Tottenham — forged last year following the sale of Luka Modric to the nine-time European champions — has not stopped Zidane from flirting with the idea of Bale moving to the Bernabeu this summer.
Zidane said in May that Bale, who recently returned from holidaying in the United States, would fit in well at the Spanish club. Last weekend he intimated that Bale could speed up a transfer if he asked to leave Tottenham.
Franco Baldini’s appointment as director of football has raised hopes that Spurs will start moving to bring in new recruits soon, but it is understood that the club are unlikely to announce any signings in the next couple of weeks.
Villas-Boas will be hoping that Baldini can land at least one big-name player after missing out on Joao Moutinho and Leandro Damiao in the last two windows.
A striker remains a priority because of Tottenham’s reliance on Bale last season. Barcelona forward David Villa is a leading target, but it is thought that Tottenham’s interest in Damiao has cooled.
Fellow Brazilians Paulinho and Bernard are also reported to be on Villas-Boas’s radar. The Guardian
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