Gareth Bale will not want to leave Tottenham even if they are not in the Champions League next season, according to Harry Redknapp.
Gareth Bale will not want to leave Tottenham even if they are not in the Champions League next season, according to Harry Redknapp.
The Wales wideman is attracting attention from all over Europe following two eye-catching Champions League displays against Inter Milan.
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The European champions are among the clubs said to be interested in the 21-year-old, along with Real Madrid and Barcelona, with figures in excess of ufffd50million mentioned.
But Spurs boss Redknapp insisted: "It doesn't worry me, it's great. Spurs are being noticed and one of our players is getting the whole of Europe talking.
"I understand the attention on Gareth, it's the nature of football.
"But, trust me, he won't be leaving Spurs - even if we were to fail to qualify for the Champions League this season.
"I don't think Gareth is at all interested in being anywhere else.
"Even if we didn't make the top four at the end of this season, he wouldn't come knocking on my door demanding a move to a club in the Champions League.
"Gareth isn't like that and, like me, he knows this is a club on the up."
Redknapp revealed even Bale's team-mates were chanting his name following a match-winning performance in Tuesday's 3-1 victory over Inter.
"Gareth deserves all the praise that has come his way after his brilliant performance against Inter Milan this week," Redknapp wrote in his column in The Sun.
"In fact, when he came into the dressing room after doing his TV interviews on Tuesday night all the lads in the dressing room started chanting 'Bale, Bale'."
Redknapp, who was in charge of Southampton as Bale was coming through the Saints youth team, admitted he had doubts at one point as to whether the youngster would make it at the top level.
"There was a time when I worried that he might be just too nice and too soft," said Redknapp, recalling his early days at Spurs.
"He seemed to go down injured so easily even in training that it got to the point where I told our physios not to bother treating him so that he would get up and run it off.
"I thought they were pampering him too much.
"I felt he had to get tougher and grow up a bit and I think he knew it too.
"It was obvious that he could play though, it just needed to come out."
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