Brilliant Bale belongs at Spurs - Harry

21 October 2010 06:40
Harry Redknapp lavished praise on Gareth Bale after watching the Tottenham winger almost stage a sensational one-man rescue act at Inter Milan.[LNB] Already one of the hottest young properties in Europe, Wales international Bale elevated himself to superstar status with a stunning hat-trick to spare Spurs' blushes in Wednesday night's Champions League Group A encounter at the San Siro.[LNB]Bale's exploits were not enough to prevent Tottenham suffering a 4-3 defeat but his goals - especially a stunning solo effort of which Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo would have been proud - meant he ended up stealing the show.[LNB]Manager Redknapp said: "He's an amazing young player. He plays left-back, he plays wide left, he scores goals, he can run all day.[LNB]"Even first half, he gave the right-back a torrid time, I felt.[LNB]"The right-back's one of the best right-backs in the world, possibly."[LNB]Spurs rebuffed an approach for Bale before the transfer window closed but it would be no surprise to see an avalanche of mega-money bids for the 21-year-old in January, arguably more than are likely to materialise for Wayne Rooney.[LNB]But Redknapp refused to discuss his prize asset's current value, saying: "Tottenham is a club that is looking to progress, not to sell its best players.[LNB]"If Tottenham sell Gareth Bale now, it would send out the wrong signals; it would be a club that would be a selling club.[LNB]"He's a player that we hope to build a team around. He signed a new contract at the club and, hopefully, he'll be here for a good few years to come.[LNB]"If Tottenham progress and become a Champions League team on a regular basis, he'll become a big part of the team."[LNB]He added: "You couldn't meet as nice a boy. I think he's happy where he is and he's developing as a player.[LNB]"A year ago, he's nowhere near that player that we see now.[LNB]"This is where he belongs and this is where he'll progress.[LNB]"There's no way that the club would or should contemplate ever selling him at the moment, certainly not in the near future.[LNB]"We should be looking to improve the team, not sell when we get an offer for one of our very, very best players."[LNB]But even Bale could not mask Spurs' shortcomings as European champions Inter humiliated them in a merciless first-half assault.[LNB]The visitors were 3-0 and a man down inside 14 minutes, goals from Javier Zanetti, a Samuel Eto'o penalty - after Heurelho Gomes had been sent off - and Dejan Stankovic doing the damage, with Eto'o adding a fourth before the break.[LNB]Redknapp admitted praying the game would end at that stage but ended up hoping it would continue after Bale struck in the 90th and 91st minutes.[LNB]"At half-time, we'd have all gone home at 4-0 for sure," he said.[LNB]"You could just see more damage coming second half.[LNB]"It was like your worst nightmare.[LNB]"Second half, we stayed with two wide men, stayed with one up front and Gareth Bale turned in an amazing second-half performance."[LNB]Tottenham have now conceded eight goals in their three Champions League away games and Wednesday night's match was almost a carbon copy of their qualifying defeat at Young Boys, in which they fell 3-0 down before recovering to lose 3-2.[LNB]He said: "We didn't defend well. We were looking to play offside at times, with no pressure on the ball, and we struggled.[LNB]"Suddenly you find yourself two goals down, the goalie's been sent off.[LNB]"It's a very, very difficult next 85 minutes when you start like that.[LNB]"Second half, we steadied the ship, we hung in there.[LNB]"To get the three goals gave us a bit of a lift in the end."[LNB]Gomes was unhappy with his sending-off, according to Redknapp.[LNB]"He felt it was harsh; he didn't feel he should have been sent off," the Spurs boss said.[LNB]Redknapp was relieved the other game in the group - between FC Twente and Werder Bremen - ended in a 1-1 draw, meaning Spurs stay second, two points clear of third.[LNB]He added: "Didn't do too much damage in the end tonight."[LNB]Inter manager Rafael Benitez also applauded Bale's performance but felt his own side made it easier for the winger by switching off in the second half.[LNB]Side-stepping a question about whether he would be interested in signing Bale, the former Liverpool boss said: "He's a good player; we knew before, we know now.[LNB]"He played really well.[LNB]"We gave to them much space, we made too many mistakes, but he was doing really well."[LNB]Benitez added: "The first half, we were playing really well.[LNB]"The second half, we were a little bit relaxed; we made too many mistakes.[LNB]"They played good counter-attack and we paid for this."

Source: Team_Talk