Bale not part of Spurs squad to face Crystal Palace.
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Speculation over Gareth Bale’s future at Tottenham is set to continue, with the latest news being that the Welshman will miss his team’s opening game against Crystal Palace.
According to Sky Sports, Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas confirmed his star player’s absence for this weekend, though he insisted it is simply through an injury that has also kept him out of several of the team’s pre-season games.
However, rumours have suggested that Bale has been deliberately sitting out of these matches due to a desire to engineer a move to Real Madrid, who have been chasing the winger all summer.
After scoring 26 goals in all competitions last season, Bale has become hot property, and could still become the most expensive player of all time this summer, with the Bernabeu club willing to pay over £80million for him, breaking their previous record that brought Cristiano Ronaldo to the club from Manchester United in 2009.
Bale is keen to move on after becoming unconvinced that he will achieve his dream of playing Champions League football at White Hart Lane, and some of Spurs’ work in this summer’s transfer window suggests that they are preparing for his departure.
Villas-Boas has done well to bring in big names such as Roberto Soldado, Paulinho and Etienne Capoue, but this may be in anticipation of the large sum they will receive from Real Madrid for Bale.