Spurs meet Bale money

[Mighty T.A.L.]

Tottenham have agreed an undisclosed fee with Southampton for their prodigious left-back Gareth Bale.

Spurs are long-term admirers of the 17-year-old Welshman, who is highly sought after by much of the Premiership.

Manchester United, in particular, have been mooted as a possible destination for Bale, but Spurs have made the first, decisive move.

Bale is still short of 50 appearances for Saints but has consistently caught the eye, not least with his prowess from a dead ball, and at 16 years and 315 days became the youngest player to represent Wales against Trinidad & Tobago last May.

Reports this week suggested Saints became resigned to Bale's exit after missing out on promotion to the Premiership via the play-offs.

Source: Skysports

[Mighty T.A.L.]

skysports.com: Southampton have denied reports suggesting Tottenham have agreed a deal for prodigious left-back Gareth Bale.

[Mighty T.A.L.]

Tottenham ready to tie up deal for £10m Bale

Tottenham will today complete the signing of Gareth Bale from Southampton for a fee in the region of £10m. Bale will complete a medical in north London and sign a contract on a deal which is understood to involve an initial payment of £6m.

Bale last night agreed personal terms and sources close to the family confirmed he will tie up the formalities this morning, ending competing interest from Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea in the left-back.

Bale's representatives had met Southampton officials earlier in the week and the Saints' manager, George Burley, retained hope that the 17-year-old Wales international could be persuaded to stay in the Championship for another season. "There has been nothing accepted for Gareth Bale and the situation remains the same," said Burley. "We will speak to him about staying for a longer period. That is something Gareth, his parents and advisers are thinking about."

Source: guardian.co.uk

[Mighty T.A.L.]

BALE TO EXIT ON CHEAP

WELSH star Gareth Bale will be sold by Southampton on the cheap to either Manchester United, Tottenham or Arsenal to ease their £1million-a-month losses.

Saints expect to face a big financial setback after failing to return to the top flight.

The Premiership parachute payments, worth £6million a year for two years since relegation, end this summer.

Spurs had an £8m bid rejected in January but the 17-year-old will now be sold for less.

Southampton's only salvation lies with a possible takeover by Microsoft multimillionaire Paul Allen.

Source: The Mirror

I don't think £10M is cheap...

[mr.watford]

Originally Posted by Mighty T.A.L.

I don't think £10M is cheap...

it's 'only' £6m initially. still a ridiculous amount to pay though.

[Mighty T.A.L.]

Soton has agree a £10M fee.

[Mighty T.A.L.]

Saints reject Bale reports

Southampton have denied reports suggesting Tottenham have agreed a deal for prodigious left-back Gareth Bale.

Spurs are long-term admirers of the 17-year-old Welshman, who is highly sought after by much of the Premiership.

Manchester United, in particular, have been mooted as a possible destination for Bale, but Spurs were claimed to have made the first, decisive move.

Bale is still short of 50 appearances for Saints but has consistently caught the eye, not least with his prowess from a dead ball, and at 16 years and 315 days became the youngest player to represent Wales against Trinidad & Tobago last May.

Reports this week suggested Saints have become resigned to Bale's exit after missing out on promotion to the Premiership via the play-offs.

Source: Skysports

How confuse can you get?

[Mighty T.A.L.]

BALE IS SPURS BOUND

TOTTENHAM will sign Southampton wonderkid Gareth Bale for £10million within the next 24 hours.

The Saints and Wales full-back, 17, completed his medical at White Hart Lane yesterday - and Spurs are delighted at fending off late interest by Premiership champions Manchester United.

Bale follows Arsenal winger Theo Walcott out of the highly-rated St Mary's academy and into the top flight.

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The youngster will sign for an initial payment of £6m, rising to £10m with assorted add-ons.

Spurs boss Martin Jol first moved for Bale in the January transfer window.

But the Wales international chose to stay at St Mary's to develop his career under Saints boss George Burley.

Spurs' bitter rivals Arsenal were also in the hunt for Bale - who had one year left on his deal - but the Gunners failed to register a firm interest, allowing Tottenham to steal a march.

Bale's capture will be sure to excite fans of the north London club, who could see him playing on the left-wing rather than at left full-back.

Jol has promised Bale regular first-team football action - another key factor in Tottenham's successful swoop. Bale made his debut as a 16-year-old for the South Coast outfit last year, becoming the second-youngest Saints player ever.

He also became the youngest Welsh international of all time in May last year, when he set up the late winner against Trinidad & Tobago.

Source: The Mirror

[kyan]

Is Bale the solution to Spurs' LB problems? If Arsenal don't strengthen this summer and Spurs keep hold of Berbatov we could see them break into the top 4 imo.

[Mighty T.A.L.]

Arsenal don't need to strenght the team as they have players who are closing in to get a real breakthrough soon.Henry and var Persie will be back in play and the young players is one year more experienced.The future at Arsenal look bright.It will be tough for Tottenham to challenge them next season also although Spurs keep on signing new players.I've seen Bale in Championship this season and I don't rate him high.He seems slow to me.He's highly rated only because of his age and his left foot.

[kyan]

Arsenal could have problems this season, they're so full of talent but they're not getting anywhere with it, rumours about Cesc going to Madrid are getting stronger each day and Henry's been linked with a move to Barcelona for the last 2 seasons, it's going to be tough convincing them to stay when elsewhere they have a more concrete chance of mounting a title challenge.

[kennethlindheim]

Gareth Bale looks like one of the Best Young British prospects from what I have seen. As a player he is quite remarkable for his age, wonderful cultured left foot and gets forward so well he will be a fantastic signing for any of the Top Clubs.

I would imagine Spurs are trying to out bid everyone because they know when Bale is up for a free transfer in 1 years time they will not be able to compete one on one with "the Big 4" or Newcastle United in recent history for his signature.

Wonderful signing if Tottenham can out bid everyone though.

[russe||]

Tottenham complete Bale transfer

Tottenham have completed the signing of Southampton's teenager Welsh international defender Gareth Bale.

Southampton said Spurs will make an immediate payment of £5 million, with further additional payments that could see the transfer fee rise to £10m.

The 17-year-old Bale said: "I'm just excited to be coming to a massive club like Spurs. It's pushing forward and I want to be part of its future."

Bale had only one year left on his Southampton contract.

The youngster had also been linked with moves to Arsenal and Manchester United.

Spurs had a bid of about £10m accepted by Saints in January, but Bale rejected the transfer at that time.

Following Southampton's failure to gain promotion this season the prospect of first-team football in the Premiership at Tottenham looks to have been enough to change his mind.

"I really want to play in the Premiership," added Bale. "That's very important to me and this is a fantastic opportunity. I've thought long and hard about it and feel the time is right to move on.

"I could have gone in January but I wanted to try and help Saints win promotion. I felt I owed them that and I didn't want to move mid-season.

"I wanted to keep my focus on learning and developing my game at a critical stage of the campaign."

Bale made his debut as a 16-year-old last year for Saints - becoming the second youngest to ever play for the club - and this season he has become a regular for Southampton and Wales.

He became the youngest Welsh international when he played against Trinidad & Tobago in May last year, setting up a late winner.

Tottenham sporting director Damien Comolli said: "We have been following Gareth for a long time now and have been very tenacious, so we are absolutely delighted to get him here.

"He's a player of great quality and, as we always say, our aim in each window is to improve the quality of the squad. He has the ideal combination to become a top, top player."

BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Tottenham Hotspur | Tottenham complete Bale transfer

Ridiculous money for a 17 year old from a Championship club. Still in a world where Ashley Young costs £10m you should expect this sort of shit.

[unitedfan]

Well, the fee was never going to be any cheaper, when you consider the dynamics of the modern transfer market, especially in England, and even more especially directly between English clubs. Ashley Young £10m has already been put down. Theo Walcott, £12m and SWP £21m are another two prime examples. Mourinho put it well enough when asked about the fee for the SWP transfer, "The English transfer market is crazy."