Madrid website hints that £93m Bale move is Real deal

Talk of the Tottenham and Wales winger moving to Spain for a reported £93m has dominated the transfer rumour mill all summer, and the only question now appears to be when the deal will be completed.

The north London club’s technical director Franco Baldini flew to Madrid on Wednesday to negotiate the finer points of the 24-year-old’s transfer to the nine-time European champions.

The Spanish giants have made no secret of their interest in Bale, and the move would give the Wales international the chance to play in the Champions League after scoring 31 goals for club and country last season.

Spanish media have suggested Tottenham and Real would announce the deal on Friday, but other reports say the details will be finalised over the weekend.

Real appeared to pre-empt an official announcement when the club’s website listed Bale as a team member on its merchandising section.

After screengrabs appeared on news websites, Real removed his name and left out the number 11 shirt, which Bale wore at Spurs last season, from its list of players.

Real kept number 11 free when they announced their squad numbers in pre-season in what was seen as a clear statement of their intentions regarding Bale.

Bale sat out Tottenham’s 5-0 win over Dinamo Tbilisi on Thursday, officially because of a foot injury.

Manager Andre Villas-Boas repeatedly dodged questions from reporters on Bale’s future. He said: “On Gareth I am not able to comment on anything.”

While Spurs fans will take heart from the team’s demoilition of their Georgian opponents in the Europa League play-off, there will be some anxiety over who will replace him.

Brazilian internation Willian had been favourite to step into Bale’s boots, and the 25-year-old underwent a medical at Spurs earlier this week.

But reports suggest that Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho is attempting to outbid Spurs, although there has been no comment from Stamford Bridge.

Villas-Boas said: “I confirmed our interest in the player. Everything is possible, but I’m not aware of the circumstances because of our involvement in the (Dinamo) game. I don’t want it to be a distraction over what we achieved here.”

Spurs have already spent £60m on four new signings, and the club have also been holding talks in London with Roma over Erik Lamela, the highly-rated Argentina midfielder.

The spending spree has only added to speculation that Bale’s move to the Bernabeu has been a done deal for some time and Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has already spent the cash from the sale.