Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas apparently begins every morning now by walking to his hotel balcony and shouting for all to hear that Gareth Bale is still not for sale. Still!
And he repeats that exercise in futility several times a day. Or so it seems.
He said so once again Tuesday from Hong Kong, where the team has relocated as prep continues for the coming Premier League campaign.
(FYI, Clint Dempsey told me last month he would join the team in Hong Kong, although I cannot find confirmation one way or the other verifying the U.S. international has joined up. I’ll try to come up with more today at the U.S. practice in Dallas, where perhaps some of the national team officials can help out. Back to Bale …)
Bale missed last week’s 0-0 preseason draw with Colchester. And he’ll be out again tomorrow as Spurs meet Sunderland in the Asia Trophy competition, according to the manager. Bale is probably legitimately injured – but expect speculation to begin reaching critical mass that the Welshman is being held out due to the ongoing transfer circus.
The latest revolves around reports that Bale is all but signed with Madrid (which Joe Prince-Wright told you about earlier today). If such a deal – well, any deal – is being finalized, protocol would dictate that the player stay away from competitive matches. Hence, the faucet of speculation gets twisted a little further into the “ON” position.
What Villas-Boas said from Hong Kong on Tuesday: