Gareth Bale’s form in 2012 has alerted long-time admirers Barcelona to the possibility of signing the Welsh international, with the Catalans ready to offer Tottenham a reported £50million in the summer.
Various reports on Wednesday morning, including from the Daily Express and Mirror, have suggested that Barca will look to offload youngsters Cristian Tello, Jonathan Dos Santos and Isaac Cuenca in an attempt to raise funds for an audacious Bale bid.
Bale has been at the top of many clubs’ wish-lists after dazzling performances against Inter Milan in last season’s Champions League group stages. The 22-year-old is in the form of his life and has said in the past that he is ambitious and wouldn’t be afraid to move abroad in order to further his career.
Barcelona are the pinnacle of European football at the moment and although they would certainly have considerable clout when enticing any player, there is no indication that Spurs will want to sell their prized asset, especially with Champions League football once again on the horizon at White Hart Lane.
Barcelona did something similar last season, when offloading Oriol Romeu to Chelsea, freeing up funds to complete a move for Cesc Fabregas.
As with Romeu, any deal for Tello, Cuenca or Dos Santos would have to include a buy-back option, giving Barca some insurance should the highly-rated youngsters turn out to be even better than expected.
The reports also say that a host of English clubs are interested in the Barcelona trio, but Spurs will be given first-option, should a deal for Bale be reached.
I don’t think that Barca would let all three players leave. Although, Bale would undoubtedly be a massive success in Spain, the three Catalan youngsters are all very talented and may still prove themselves worthy of a full-time place in the first team.
On top of this, Barcelona have already agreed a first-option deal on Brazilian superstar Neymar, with a possible deal to be concluded before next summer, so Bale isn’t a necessarily needed at the Camp Nou.
If Barca received big offers for their three top youngsters, then they may look to pursue a bid for Bale. I think any deal though, will be dependant on Tottenham’s willingness to sell.
