Saints receive £10m Bale approach
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Southampton's resolve to keep Gareth Bale will be tested by an approach to sell the teenager for up to £10m. BBC Radio Solent say an unnamed club has sounded out Saints on the prospect of selling the 17-year-old Wales star.
Manchester United and Tottenham have had bids rejected for the full-back and boss George Burley insists he will not be sold in the transfer window. Burley told the Saints website: "At some point Gareth will go but he will be here until the end of the season."
Bale has recently turned down Southampton's offer of a one-year extension to his contract, the most Saints are able to offer a player of his age. Tottenham are believed to have opened the auction for Bale with a £6m bid, which was rejected.
Saints are then thought to have snubbed Manchester United's £8m offer for Bale, while Liverpool and Newcastle are also thought to be interested. Burley is desperate to keep Bale, who is a key part of Saints' promotion bid. He is resigned to losing Bale at some stage but feels the young defender's development would be best served by staying at the Championship club.
The Saints boss feels Bale could learn from Theo Walcott, who has only flirted with first-team football at Arsenal since his £12m move last year. Walcott played his last game for Southampton almost a year ago to the week at QPR and Burley is determined the 2-0 win at Loftus Road on Saturday will not mark Bale's last appearance in a Southampton shirt.
Burley said: "You can't beat playing regularly for your development and at bigger clubs it is harder to get in the team. "His parents are very pleased with his progress and feel this is a good place for him to learn his football and the improvement has been there to be seen.
"I know he is going to go at some point but I want to keep him as long as possible." -
good to go manu arsenal cos saf and wenger are world class in nuturing talent.
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BALE HOLDS SPURS TALKS - REPORT
Tottenham have reportedly jumped to the front of the queue to sign Southampton whizzkid Gareth Bale.
Sir Alex Ferguson was apparently confident the 17-year-old would sign for Manchester United in an £8million deal that would see the Wales international see out the rest of the season on loan at St Mary's.
Yet Saints turned down the offer, and several national newspapers claim Spurs have now been successful with a bid of £10million, with The Mirror going as far as saying Bale travelled to White Hart Lane on Monday for talks with Martin Jol.
Southampton boss George Burley has spent much of the last three weeks fending off questions over Bale's future, just as he had to last year with Theo Walcott.
And in the wake of Saints' 2-0 defeat of QPR on Saturday - in which Bale excelled - he said: "I've told Gareth I feel he needs to be here this season and next season, that would be ideal for his development.
"I haven't changed my opinion. You can't beat playing first-team football for the development of a young kid. At a big club it's harder to get into the team, which is understandable. It's best for the player to be in this league, at a good club, where he can find his feet."
Bale's current contract runs out in 18 months and talks over a one-year extension - the maximum allowed for a player of his age - have been shelved until the summer.
But before Spurs' latest reported bid, Burley was confident he could ride out the rest of the transfer window without losing the Wales international.
The Scot said: "Gareth doesn't want to go anywhere, certainly until the summer.
"We know he's going to go at some point, but our aim is to keep him as long as possible. No matter what he will be here until the end of the season.