As the sunny weather starts to drift away from England, clouds have begun forming over much of the nation. The summer appears to be coming to an end and the doom and gloom is slowly returning.
Over at White Hart Lane, Tottenham Hotspur have been sweating even when the sun has not been out, as Real Madrid pursue their star man, Gareth Bale. The Welsh wide-man has been in tremendous form over the past three seasons and has quite rightly become one of the most coveted Brits in the world. For many of us, it is a shame that he isn’t English.
Bids reportedly started at £50m for the 24-year-old, although now have risen to a staggering record-breaking £85m. It is still unclear whether this has actually been bid, but it seems it will be soon, if it hasn’t already.
So, with that money 12 months ago, a club could have been £2m off buying three Cesc Fabregas’. Or almost two Eden Hazards and Oscar. Perhaps they could have bought Santi Cazorla, Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud, Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa (with money to spare). Is Bale really worth it?
There is no point talking about his awful start at Spurs, where he didn’t win in his first 24 matches, because that is a team shortfall and he has clearly moved on a lot since then. However, in a talented squad, a star player would be expected to lift them up a level, which in this case is the Champions League.
Granted, they made it into the Champions League in 2010-11, however the squad has improved since then and they have not held their place. Of course they were also very unlucky not to qualify when they finished 4th, but Chelsea won Europe so stole the place right from under their noses.
In performances against the elite, many would claim that Bale has staked his place amongst them. His performance in that game against Inter Milan was epic. He has also shown that he can play with quality in the Premier League against top sides.
His stunning left foot alone is worth £20m-£30m in goals to Spurs. He scored more goals from outside the box than any other player in a top European league. That is saying something when you consider some of the talent that Italy, Germany, Spain and the rest of England has to offer.
His dribbling is another great part of his game, with electric pace to complement it and a brain that matches his brilliance. He is easily the hottest British player in the transfer market right now.
However, without being able to cut inside and run at defences, he has looked limited in some games. This could just be bad games, which every player is entitled to have, but for £85m, a club wants a player who will only have one bad game a season.
It has also been spoken of that Real Madrid may have to offset this transfer with a big-name sale. It is unlikely, but rumours have even passed that Cristiano Ronaldo may be heading for the exit. Unsettling a player of the quality that the Portuguese international has is a very dangerous game.
Zinedine Zidane has lowered his stock with many football fans in recent weeks by publicly admiring Bale and going on record to say what he would bring to the team. The former French wizard appears to be stopping at nothing to get his man, even if this means causing a stir amongst the current squad who fear for their places and amongst fans who are tired of ‘tapping up’ from influential people in the football world.
There are a couple of reasons I can see for Real wanting this transfer so badly. Firstly, they want to match (or now beat) Barcelona’s summer by smashing the transfer sum their title rivals paid for Neymar. Both are very exciting players and Real haven’t yet made a big marquee signing this summer.
Both players are very good and will almost certainly add to the star-studded teams, which they have (or could in Bale’s case) be joining.
Neymar also made back his £50m transfer in shirt sales within a couple of weeks. Real will bear this in mind when signing Bale as they have an equal, if not greater, fan base across the world than Barcelona.
Secondly, the overall merchandising effect could be colossal for the Madrid team. With many parts of the world being tapped into as a money-making resource, Britain remains a difficult market to enter. Most fans will only buy the occasional foreign shirt, and it is even less likely if the player has never played in England.
David Beckham and Michael Owen both made Real millions in merchandising after they moved, as record amounts of English fans flooded stores to buy a shirt with their departing hero’s name on its back. Jonathon Woodgate was another story, but it has rarely been a case that defenders are bought as merchandising tools.
From a Spurs point of view, the deal is a good one too. £85m, as stated before, could get a couple of world-class players. Spurs could see it as trading one brilliant player, who is valued too highly, for two brilliant players who they are clever in buying. Perhaps they could bid for Suarez, if they really wanted to be cheeky. Or they could try and bring in a world-class centre-back. A top winger, centre-back and striker could all be brought in for the fee generated.
The argument some fans and pundits are using for keeping Bale at Spurs is a simple one to return. They say that holding on to a top player is a statement of intent and shows it is a top club. Unfortunately, no one will think of Spurs as a top club until they are getting regular Champions League football.
If they can bring in a few players who can propel them above Arsenal on a regular basis, then they can start thinking about being a big club. Champions League qualification is the biggest statement Spurs can make, short of winning the league next season.
As people say again and again, no player is bigger than the club. The club needs £85m to improve. They are in danger of stagnating in 5th place without top players in more than one position. Bale could actually be making his biggest input in improving Tottenham by actually leaving.
Fans of the club shouldn’t be too worried though, as Andre Villas-Boas is a clever manager. He will have already picked a replacement and other targets. It is already well known that Roberto Soldado is close to a move to White Hart Lane and others should follow. The only requirement is that, unlike Arsenal in recent summers, Spurs let Bale go early so they can get on with their other business.
Gareth Bale the player may not be worth £85m, but Gareth Bale the product is, to a team like Real Madrid. The sunny days may be returning for Spurs if they accept a world-record bid for the Welshman and use it wisely to make the team the strongest it has ever been.
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