• Premier League

Villas-Boas: Spurs could lose Bale

Andre Villas-Boas refused to rule out the possibility of winger Gareth Bale leaving the club following his impressive performance in the 2-1 victory over Liverpool.

Bale has long been linked with Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, with Spurs reportedly slapping a £50 million price tag on the Wales international. Villas-Boas admits the lure of playing for one of Europe's biggest clubs could prove too strong for Bale to resist.

"At the moment he is performing extremely well for Spurs and we are amazed at what he can do for us. He is on to a great career," Villas-Boas said.

"Obviously Tottenham as a football club want to keep him here for as long as we can but we understand players like this have propositions and a market which is the nature of the game," Villas-Boas said.

Villas-Boas heaped praise on Bale after Wednesday's win at White Hart Lane, comparing his technique to that of Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo after he scored from a set-piece.

"Players learn through what they see. With Ronaldo we saw that you can almost hit under the ball and it gains an effect where it drops and changes direction," the Portuguese noted. "He [Bale] has the power to do that. He keeps on practising this technique and we are pleased to have it.

"He's scoring more than last season by this stage. He is more free, getting more of the ball, the team is creating conditions for him to appear more. He is enjoying himself on the pitch.

"His physical freshness, his motivation towards playing, what he does offensively and defensively. He takes over the whole of the left wing. He helps the full-back so much. It's never-ending. His pace, it's electric.

"This is a player who was captain for 90 minutes against Lazio, played 90 minutes against West Ham, Liverpool, he keeps on going. Him and Lennon down the channels have been absolutely amazing this season."

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