Gareth Bale In Contract Talks With Tottenham And Latest News

Gareth Bale [Jav The_DoC_66]Tottenham manager, Andre Villas-Boas brought good news today when he confirmed that Gareth Bale is in contract discussions with the club. He was speaking at a news conference at the club’s Hong Kong base ahead of tomorrow’s match with South China. This is the news that all Tottenham supporters have been waiting for and if they come to a successfully conclusion should bring an end to all the rumour and speculation circulating, especially in the Spanish press, that Bale is set to leave White Hart Lane this summer. AVB stated that the club were in discussions with Bale’s agent regarding improvements in his contract. He reported that Bale will not be playing in tomorrow’s match as he hasn’t recovered from his injury.

Gareth Bale is quoted in an article in the Match of the Day magazine, reported by the Daily Mail, stating how he believes Tottenham can make it into the Champions League this season.

"“Definitely. We all believe we can get into the Champions League otherwise there’s not point being here.It’s just a matter of going out there and proving everyone we can.”"

Gylfi Sigurdsson’s comments which were reported by the Daily Express, are ones which every Spurs supporter would echo,

"“He’s a great player and if he stays it will be fantastic. I’m sure he will stay because he’s still here. He is a draw for other players to come here. Good players want to play with other big players. It’s a big club and hopefully he’ll stay and we’ll bring in a few other good players.”"

Jan Vertonghen

Jan Vertonghen [@edgey642]There is encouraging news on Jan Vertonghen’s injury. He injured his ankle after playing just six minutes of the second half against Sunderland in the Barclays Asia Cup, having come on as a substitute at half-time on Wednesday. It is thought that he will be out for 2 – 3 weeks according to Villas-Boas, rather than the 3 – 4 weeks being reported esrlier. If all goes well with his recuperation, that should give him time to be ready for the first match of the season on Sunday, 18th August.

Roberto Soldado

AVB again confirmed Spurs’ interest in Valancia’s Roberto Soldado. His comments were reported on Twitter by @Addicted to Spurs,

"“He’s a player we are interested in having, but I don’t have any further developments to give you. He has done well in Valencia for the last five [three] seasons and had a good education from the Real Madrid school from where he’s from.”"

With reports in today’s press that Liverpool are now interested in Soldado, an earlier tweet suggested that there may be a definitive decision within days. It is known that Valencia want any deal completed by Saturday week, 3rd August, and the tweet by Adam Suter suggested that any delays were over the method of payment and that a decision could be made soon.
https://twitter.com/Adam79Suter/status/360663066683256832

Positive news on Tottenham with the Premier League season just over three weeks away. The Bale issue and the signing of a striker are two areas which Spurs need to resolve as soon as possible to enable the team to focus on the first game against Crystal Palace. Paulinho will join up with the squad at the beginning of next week as preparations move into their final stages with AVB and the coaching staff having only two more weeks to work with the players as once again the week before the start of the season is set aside for internationals and most of the players will be heading off around the globe when called up for their country’s squad.