VIDEO of Under 21 win, Bale, Willian, Lamela

Let's start off Thursday with some video highlights of our Under 21's 6-3 defeat of Manchester City, a game in which Harry Kane grabbed a hat-trick.




Right having cheered you up lets get on to the other news, Bale, Willian, Lamela.

Franco Baldidi is racking up the air miles travelling around Europe and putting together the transfer deals for Levy to sanction and finalise.

A 5 year deal for Willian sorted with wages in the region of £85,000 a week, passed to Daniel, on then to Erik Lamela, not in Rome though and not in London but in Madrid.

Baldini is negotiating the sale of Gareth Bale whilst also negotiating for Erik Lamela and it is believed in some quarters Miralem Pjanic also.

Reports are now suggesting a deal in principle has been agreed for 21 year-old Argentinian Lamela. Wages in year one will of £40K (€2.4m a year) rising in the subsequent years of a 6 year contract. The fee agreed is a basic £25.65 million (€30m) with add-ons, the add-ons have not been agreed upon though as like Valencia Roma want easily achievable targets that will almost guarantee them more money. The add-ons will take the total cost of the deal to £29.92 million (€35m) it is believed.

The other potential stumbling block to the deal is the payment schedule. Roma want the money over 2 years, we want to pay over 4 years. We clearly want a deal to be done with Bale leaving probably by the end of the week, it would be a surprise if an agreement is not reached very soon.

Lamela is expecting to be a Spurs player, his girlfriend is expecting him to be a Spurs player tweeting 'What a farce' when he was presented as a Roma player yesterday, his brother is expecting him to be a Spurs player tweeting when asked where he is is going, Tottenham. The deal is dependent on Bale leaving so nothing can be confirmed with the deals yet until Bale is finalised (announced as finalised or not), then it's dominoes (draughts) time.

As Spurs fans we don't want to lose Gareth Bale but even those who have been in denial must now be starting to accept he is off. To use him to assemble a strong team will mean hardly any dissenting voices I would have thought with the array of vast talent he has been replaced with.

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Bale to Madrid to happen soon

Bale to Madrid to happen soon.

Very interesting what Guillem Balague had to say on TalkSport that Real Madrid asked Gareth Bale to play for Wales and not for Spurs to show he was not injured and wanted to leave but he refused. There are a few people still left who are clinging to the belief that he is injured, but quite frankly they are not being honest with themselves in my opinion.

Bale did zero promotion for Spurs whilst in the Far East, not one single photo opportunity, as I've said before that speaks volumes. Football is about generating an income off the field to be able to buy and compete on the field. He sat in a changing room out the way and did nothing to promote Spurs.

Madrid wanted him to do a press conference and say he wants to leave but he refused to do that also, he is going to the training ground every day which Balague says Spurs have agreed to, but he is not training with the team as we know. He has told Levy he wants to leave but is not doing anything to cause unrest, apart from not training or playing, solely so he doesn't get injured.

We might see him gone by the end of the week, there is always a chance a deal will not be reached but Balague is expecting one to be finalised for around £82.17 million (€96m) plus probably Coentrao.

He says Real Madrid have offered £73.61 million (€86m) plus players at the moment which won't be enough and Daniel Levy wants a deal totalling £102.72 million (€120m).

I have long held the view Bale told us he wants to go, his agent doesn't do things without his knowledge so engineering a move hasn't been a plan hatched by his agent and Real Madrid without his knowledge. They tried to get the price down it didn't work, now they simply have to accept it and pay up if they want him and Perez wants him.

Our failure to qualify for the Champions League has cost us. That was the minimum requirement last season and the bottom line is, we failed with it. Had we succeeded then I'm sure Bale would have been here for another year and enjoying another Champions League adventure with us.

Erik Lamela's camp are waiting for that deal to happen and then he'll be signing on the dotted line. The deal apprears to be dependent on Bale going reading what his agent says although plenty are trying to convince us otherwise.

"I'm not in London and what is being said is not the truth," Pablo Sabbag (players agent) told Italy's ANSA agency. "I'm in the [Italian] capital along with Erik's father.

"Lamela's relaxed about it all. We're just waiting for developments. Let's see what happens."

Paulinho, Capoue, Soldado, Chadli, Willian, Lamela, Coentrao all are signed or look likely to sign. I said on Facebook right at the start of this window to expect 5 or even 6 new faces in the starting line up next season. It's looking like I knew what I was talking about.

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Huddlestone, AVB, Bale

Tom Huddlestone has taken to Twitter to clarify comments he feels the newspapers have twisted.

"Would like to thank the Spurs fans, staff and players for the wonderful 8yrs I have spent there. Have some amazing memories that I will cherish and keep with me forever. A new chapter In my career is about to start and I'm very excited and can't wait to get started! Feel mis-quoted, enjoyed my season with AVB and my whole time with spurs. If you read the quotes you get a clear picture, not the headline."

Tom mentioned to the papers that he felt he was forced out the door, well to an extent that is probably true. Spurs did really have to force Tom out the door, he spoke to many clubs but never signed for any of them.

I hope he does well at Hull, at least he has given himself a chance to be seen by Hodgson and a chance of getting picked for the World Cup next summer.

Andre Villas-Boas has given a wake up call to those fans with their heads buried in the sand. Gareth Bale doesn't speak to him and Spurs may have to force Gareth to stay against his will.

"For the games against Palace, Tbilisi and Swansea, he will not be in line to threaten to come back. We will have to see how he returns today from [international duty with] Wales, and assess if the pain in his foot has stopped troubling his progress to return into first-team training. Our idea is to count on Gareth. I have told you lots and lots of times.

"Speculation has arisen with the player because of the quality that he has and the season that he had, the amazing moments of individual brilliance. Ideally, we would like the player to continue belonging to Tottenham. We are aware that Real Madrid are interested. It doesn't mean that we are willing to negotiate.

Villas-Boas confirmed decisions over the future of Bale would be made in discussion with chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Franco Baldini. "Everyone is involved, whatever the decision we take – including those from last season onwards," he said. "We explain to the clubs that have asked for him that the player is our player."

Our idea is to count on Gareth.

"Speculation has aroused with the player because of the quality that he has and the season he had last season, the amazing moments of individual brilliance. Ideally, we'd like the player to continue belonging to Tottenham.

"We can speak to the players regarding their ambitions and we can explain to them that at certain stages players are under contract and have the responsibility towards their clubs. And we as club, or the chairman as the person who controls the club, has to defend their own interest."

He was asked if Spurs are a one man team and he responded by implying that all major teams have one key figure. "You take Messi and Ronaldo out of Barcelona and Real Madrid, you see how many points they have."

When asked about Bale's state of mind: "His mental state nobody knows because the player doesn't speak. The only thing that we are able to see – or you are able to see – is the player arriving in and out of the training ground." When asked to clarify what he believed Bale's mental state to be, Villas-Boas simply replied: "It's fine, it's fine."

So basically he won't be 'fit' until after the transfer window shuts on September 2, surprise surprise. People read what they want to read into these things but the situation has been pretty obvious for weeks. Personally I naturally want Bale to stay and if he is still here at the end of the window he will knuckle down and give 100% of that I have no doubt, however this situation has happened many times before with many clubs. Mystery injuries suddenly appear as an excuse but most fans see through these things in this day and age.

The smokescreen of a painful foot isn't fooling many, it's patently obvious that Bale decided he wasn't playing for Spurs and wasn't training with everyone else in case he got injured and scuppered a move. It's a disgraceful way to behave, but it's common and he is doing himself no favours. If you sat down at the start of the window and wrote a script of how a saga will go, you would have written all this.

The big point for me was Hong Kong. A massive Asian market the club wants to promote itself in and where was Gareth Bale? Not one photo opportunity in a Spurs shirt for the number one marketing tool in football who basically had nothing better to do and against South China he even stayed in the changing rooms.

That shouted loud and clear I don't want to promote Spurs because I'm not going to be here, unless of course you want to believe our marketing department and PR departments are totally incompetent.

His silence is simply a way of not alienating fans in case he is still here in which case you will see quotes of "I never wanted to leave," I guarantee it. I hope he is still here but I'm a bit too experienced not to know that everything is not rosy in the garden.

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The Daily Bale

Gareth Bale isn't going to play in a feisty British derby but then nobody ever though he would want to get injured and prevent a move. According to Punto Pelota Real Madrid have made two offers for him, £72.79 million (€87M) in one single payment or £84.76 million (€98.7M) split over four years. Punta Pelota is a sports news program that primarily covers Real Madrid and  produce a live football show online with Josep Pedrerol every night from Sunday to Thursday.

Chris Coleman has confirmed what we all knew anyway, that Bale is not injured. "We are not here to get in the way but if Gareth had a chance of playing he would be playing. The reason he is not playing is because mentally he is not ready and physically he is not ready to play.

"He has not been training at Tottenham and not enough sessions. This is not just for Gareth but any player, it is too risky. We have got a good medical team and after having talks with them the feeling was that it is too much of a risk.

"Whatever Tottenham Hotspur and Gareth Bale decide to do and whether he stays or goes is nothing to do with me, my job is when he comes with Wales and how he plays and is with us and that is all fantastic the other side is between Gareth and Tottenham."

And according to Wales teammates say the Star he has played his last game for Spurs. A Wales insider told the paper: "Gareth is confused and bitter. He can't understand why Spurs have not agreed what would be the largest transfer fee in history.

"How could any player not be affected when he knows one of the world's biggest clubs has made a huge bid - but that the deal isn't progressing? One thing's certain, he'll not play for Spurs again."

According to Marca who seem to get their information from Bale's agent or via Madrid from Bale's agent say he is meeting Levy tomorrow to further discuss his future.

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Ancelotti shuts the stable door after the horse has bolted

Having spoken out about Gareth Bale Carlo Ancelotti refuses to speak out about Gareth Bale!

You could take the view he is an intelligent man and knows exactly what he is doing or you could take the view he didn't know what he was doing, on a salary of millions of pounds a year, has realised his mistake and doesn't want to repeat it.

"I won't speak about Bale," said Ancelotti.

"I have already angered [Villas-Boas] and I don't want to anger another coach. I didn't say anything in particular and I prefer not to talk about this."

Plenty of supporters are clinging desperately to ITK that says we have not received a bid for Bale, but a verbal bid is not classed as an official bid so when clubs say no bid has been received technically they are right, but it doesn't mean that no verbal offer has been made.

The world and his wife knew we had bid for Soldado but technically we hadn't bid to start with, it was all verbal. Questions, private chats, verbal offers, negotiations, which officially are not negotiations, (Baldini/Valencia) happen all the time.

Let's be under no illusion, Real Madrid have made an offer for Bale, just maybe not a bid, although Ancelotti calls it a bid!

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