Why selling Gareth Bale could help Tottenham in long run

Tottenham look to be on the verge of selling Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for record money, and it could be exactly what was needed to propel them into the Champions League.

With spending at White Hart Lane already reaching record levels this summer, a £90 million boost to their bank balance will provide Spurs` chairman Daniel Levy reason to further invest in his team.

While Bale will never be replaced with a like-for-like player, a substantial investment can be made in other areas of the team which are considerably weaker than the midfield.

The signings made so far this summer indicate a huge increase in intentions of challenging for the top four spot, with world class talent like Robert Soldado and Paulinho arriving in North London.

Despite the fact they have missed out on Anzhi superstar Willian after an eleventh hour bid from rivals Chelsea, it has been a productive summer for Andre Villas Boas’ side, capturing highly-sought after targets in the market, including Belgian winger Nacer Chadli, and Etienne Capoue from Toulouse.

Both are young, and more importantly, have shown real promise in the opening week of this season. Where they still require strengthening is both in defence and attack, and Levy will move to address this.

Rumours suggesting the highly-rated Roma striker Erik Lamela and Real Madrid full back Fabio Coentrao could sign before the end of the transfer window. This will only happen if and when the Bale deal is concluded, and the latter may well form part of the agreement in order for Bale to leave for the Spanish giants. Even if Bale stays, and no more signings are made, it looks ever likely Spurs will finish in the top four this season.

Arsenal looked vulnerable on the counter-attack last week against Villa and although they picked up important and deserved victories in Turkey and at Fulham later in the week, against good teams with pace, especially the teams at the top, they may concede too many goals to contend with.

If the Gunners fail to invest the money Wenger had promised at the end of last season, not only will they struggle to get Champions League football, but we may not see Wenger around for the January window.

Outside of Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs, we cannot see anyone breaking into the top four, with the exception perhaps of Liverpool, providing they show higher level of consistency than the previous campaign.

Bale is a different class of player, and it will be to the loss of the Premier League to see him go. But the implications at the top of the table, come May, could be that we see Tottenham back in the Champions League, which is right where they want to be.