Tottenham Hotspur's Gareth Bale is Going Nowhere, For Goodness' Sake!

I won't deny it—as unreliable as they are when it comes to transfer talk, I read Goal.com and other rumor mill sites religiously, as many football fanatics do.

Any time a footballer leaks even a hint of discomfort at a club or when another bursts onto the scene—hell, when a club bigwig expresses admiration for a player—they are instantly linked to a switch anywhere under the sun from Milan to Minsk.

I know full well any purported impending movement I read is about as likely to happen as I am to become the leader of the free world, but it certainly is often a fun read.

Until recently, that is—reason being the emergence of Tottenham Hotspur winger Gareth Bale.

Never have I read so much speculation on a single player’s future. Perhaps it is because nobody quite so electric has graced the grass of White Hart Lane since my fanhood began; maybe it has something to do with my youth. Whatever it is, I accept that others’ names could have been bandied about with even greater fervor than the Welsh wonderkid, but this is truly insane.

Every day there is something new about Bale.

Pundits from all over claim he’ll be off to Manchester, City one day and United the next; the following week, Italian giants Inter, A.C. Milan and Juventus are supposedly clamoring to see him glide along their touchlines; and surprise bids should be expected from Real Madrid or Barcelona come January.

To all this speculation I shake my head and offer up a single quote straight from the midfielder himself.

“Why would anyone want to leave [Tottenham]?” said the young Welshman following the Lilywhites’ electric Champions League dismantling of Inter Milan at White Hart Lane.

Bale says he’s sticking around.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, too, is on the record regarding No. 3 staying in N17.

“We wouldn’t even entertain a bid,” said the gaffer. “The chairman has said he’s not for sale and that’s good enough.”

There you have it. Player, manager and club chairman all say he’s a North London man for the foreseeable future. Top that off with the four-year deal signed in the summer and the logical mind would conclude that Bale will be a name sung round the Lane for years to come.

That said, still the media insanity rages on.

To all those feeding the “Bale to Real Wherever United F.C.” fire: Leave the lad alone! The speculation is fine until he stamps a definitive statement—oddly like the one above. Once that happens, trust he’s set up shop.

I sure have.