Can Tottenham afford to turn down Real Madrid's big offer for Gareth Bale?

The Football Writer’s award for the player of the season. The PFA Player of the year for the second time. Accolades enough?

Gareth Bale is the next big thing. It’s been said and it’s been proven too to an extent, but is Tottenham the club where Gareth Bale will accomplish the achievements that match his growing stature? That’s the question that is asked as soon as a player in Europe grabs eyeballs and soon a Manchester City, a Real Madrid or a Bayern Munich are waiting in the wings with popped eyes and drooling. In a recent article by Jonathan Wilson argued that club football has changed in the last decade such that a few handful teams form an elite club and compete with top players and hence are the ones to reach the big matches, the semi-finals and the finals. A situation that saddens those who view football with emotion but perhaps a far-cry from the world that football has become. The football world of the big owners who do not accept anything but absolute success.

Without any further sensitivity to such nostalgia, the bottomline is that Tottenham will have to bow down to the pressure of the rising millions eventually. One is reminded about the transfer of Cesc Fabregas that seemed to hang like a sword over Arsenal for two seasons and eventually happened. Arsenal are still in the Champions League and with the investments they made they have managed to build an efficient team that can challenge for the title next season. Tottenham must learn from their London rivals and sell while the stakes are high and invest judiciously. Another lesson can be learnt from the case at Liverpool. With the 50 million that Liverpool made on Fernando Torres, they bought Andy Carroll for a whopping price and paid the price for it. Spurs must focus on building a team that is far superior to this with the money they make on Bale.

The fortunate thing about Tottenham is that in Andre Villas Boas, they have a talented manager at the helm who, though, has many things to prove clearly has the potential to push the club into Champions League places consistently and provide stability. Tottenham have a core group of players they an rely on and some early signings will ensure that Tottenham are ready once next season arrives.

It is crucial to identify the magnitude of quality they will lack and need to make up for once Bale leaves. The stats show the impact that Bale had on Tottenham’s performance. The sheer number of goals and assists he provides make his presence an obvious boon but add to that the circumstances in which he has scored those goals and you will see why this player is being touted as the one who may be bought for the most in the history of the game. Bale’s diversity on the pitch and the number of roles he can play in one body; the exquisite goal scoring that matches that of a forward, assists, defending and initiating lethal counter attacks are some qualities of his that show that he is more than one player for a team like Tottenham. Thankfully, the price that he will fetch will be enough to get that number of players too.

The rising chant for Bale at Madrid is symptomatic of their desire to sign Bale this season, and not the next. Critics are divided on this as they believe Real might settle for Suarez or Edinson Cavani this year and make a move for Bale next year. Barcelona have moved swiftly and have already secured Neymar’s services. Real Madrid will be wary of that and will not stand back as their rivals continue to build. If the Spanish Club’s President’s words are to be weighed, Madrid’s dream of rejuvenation after the fiasco of last season will only be complete with the massive signing of Gareth Bale. Tottenham will have to come to terms with that reality and make the best of it. Eventually.