HODDLE: BALE SHOULD REMAIN AT TOTTENHAM

Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle has advised Gareth Bale to remain at White Hart Lane and resist the temptation to join Real Madrid this summer.

Bale’s scintillating performances for club and country last term have seen him become one of the Spanish side’s top targets, with president Florentino Perez insisting that ‘great players pay for themselves’ when a £85m bid was mooted. Nonetheless, the former Spurs midfielder feels he should stay in N17.

“I would like him to stay as a Spurs fan, but I think football wise, for him, it would be the right decision,” Hoddle told Goal.  “Not financially [for him], not for Tottenham’s finances either if they get a massive bid.”

Bale, who scored 30 times in 58 appearances for club and country last season, became only the third player in history to receive both the PFA’s Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year accolades in the same season.

But Hoddle, who himself left Spurs for foreign soil when he joined AS Monaco in 1987, feels the Welshman would struggle to carry that form and level of consistency to La Liga.

“If he was to go abroad, I think he’d struggle at the moment to settle off the pitch,” he added. “I’ve done it myself, I’ve experienced it so I can talk from experience, you have to be content off the pitch to play well, and I’m not sure that would happen at this moment in time.

“If he moved within England he’d obviously settle a lot quicker.”

Bale was the driving force for a Tottenham side which, despite collecting 72 points – a Premier League record for the club – failed to qualify for the Champions League, a competition they have not returned to since their inaugural campaign back in the 2010-11 season.

This, according to Hoddle, is why Tottenham must show their ambition, and convince Bale to stay at the club for at least another season by showing intent in the summer transfer window.

“The first thing I would be saying is ‘what intent have Tottenham got?’ Are they going to add two, three, four really good players to the squad, to get into the Champions League and challenge for that next year?

“They’re going to need a bigger squad to deal with the Europa League onslaught as well.

DIEGO: THE BUNDESLIGA IS BECOMING THE BEST IN THE WORLD

Wolfsburg midfielder Diego believes the Bundesliga is on its way to becoming the best league in the world.

Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund both reached the Champions League final this season to make it an all-German affair and Diego feels German clubs will only become stronger in the years to come.

"It's a privilege to be at a Bundesliga club because, the way things are going, the German league is on its way to becoming the best footballing stage in the world," the Brazilian told Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung.

The attacking midfielder then went on to discuss his future and stressed that he remains keen to make the move to Atletico Madrid, although he admitted that a transfer is by no means a certainty.

"It's true that I still want to return to Atletico. I spent a memorable year there and even won a trophy. But it's also true that I haven't signed anything with Atletico, or any other team," he added.

"It's difficult to evaluate because it's all in their hands. Atletico have to decide what they want to do, how much they want to pay, and then see if they can strike a deal. It's up to them."

Diego has a contract with Wolfsburg until June 2014.

SWANSEA: LAUDRUP'S FUTURE NOT IN DOUBT

Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins insists his relationship with Michael Laudrup has not been adversely affected by a summer disagreement over transfer policy, but he has made it clear he will not alter his prudent financial approach.
Rather than being able to focus on strengthening their squad ahead of a season which will include the club's first foray into the Europa League, the Liberty Stadium outfit have had to cope with a falling out between Jenkins and Laudrup's long-time representative Bayram Tutumlu.
The disagreement concerned proposed transfer targets and the amount of money Swansea were prepared to spend in acquiring them.

The row put 49-year-old Laudrup's future at the club in doubt, particularly when Swansea decided to stop dealing with Tutumlu, after he attempted to broker a deal to sell defender Ashley Williams against the club's wishes.
But there has been more positive news to report in recent days with the club having tabled a number of bids for players targeted by their Danish boss.
Midfielder Jose Canas and defender Jordi Amat have arrived from Real Betis and Espanyol respectively, while Press Association Sport understands a club record £10.2million deal for Vitesse Arnhem striker Wilfried Bony is moving ever nearer.
And Jenkins is adamant he always believed Laudrup would remain in charge.
"Michael Laudrup has made his feelings known that he wanted to stay here and we have been looking to bring in five or six players," Jenkins said.
"We've worked hard during the last month or two with a lot of offers in for a lot of players, we are hoping to bring in one or two of those main targets, which have been publicised quite a bit but we will hopefully land them.
"My relationship with Michael Laudrup has always been very good, that has never been in doubt.
"There has been a lot of speculation this summer, a lot of it when Michael was on holiday, lots of it was blown out of proportion.
"There's always speculation when a club like us has been successful, whether it be players or managers, someone can come along to try and poach them, it's the type of club we are and we have to accept it.
"You can lose a manager or player in the transfer window any day.
"We're always prepared here if things change for whatever reason out of our control, we have to deal with it.
"But we weren't close to losing him (Laudrup) as far as I was concerned."
But Jenkins did voice his disappointment at Tutumlu's actions, and made it clear he would not change the club's financial ethos.
When asked about his relationship with Tutumlu, he said: "I am not friends with any agent as such, but they are part of football and we do our best to deal with them in the right way. A lot of that (the row with Tutumlu) was blown out of proportion.
"We run our football club in a certain way and whether it is Michael Laudrup and his agent or anyone other manager and his agent, we will continue to run the club as we see fit, that is what we have done for the last 10 years.
"You'll have to ask the agent what his reasons were, but things are settled down looking forward to the new season.
"It sells papers, he was contacting the press, I was away and it didn't affect what we were doing, this is how pre-season is. We have to put up with it.
"Two players are in - Canas and Amat - and I would expect five to be in by the start of season. Those timescales haven't changed."

CREWE ACCEPT BID FOR HIGHLY RATED MIDFIELDER

Blackburn have had bid accepted by Crewe for highly-rated midfielder Luke Murphy.

Wolves had a bid accepted for Murphy earlier this week and now Blackburn have also agreed a fee with Crewe for the 23-year-old.

Crewe are resigned to losing academy product Murphy, with the classy playmaker thought to be keen to test himself at a higher level.
A number of clubs have been tracking Murphy, with Wolves and Blackburn the first to have offers accepted for the player.
Blackburn are now expected to hold talks with Murphy as they look to lure the player to Ewood Park.
Murphy, who was named Crewe's Player of the Season last term, has made a total of 186 appearances for the Alex, scoring 25 goals.
Rovers boss Gary Bowyer has already made four new signings this summer and he will hope to make Murphy number five.

SCHALKE: DRAXLER CAN LEAVE

Schalke president Clemens Tonnies says he would not stand in the way of Julian Draxler were a big club to come in with an acceptable bid for him.
The 19-year-old Germany midfielder recently penned a new five-year contract with his home-town club, yet that has not brought an end to speculation about his future.

Chelsea are among the clubs linked with a move for the youngest ever player to make 100 appearances for Schalke.
And Tonnies admits even his club's biggest asset has a price.
"Of course we want to keep hold of him, Julian is an important figure in Schalke," he told the Express newspaper.
"But if we want to be fair with him, then maybe we have got to consider letting him move abroad sooner or later.
"If somebody like Real Madrid were to enquire about him, what should I say? Don't talk to them? Get serious."

BOURNEMOUTH SIGN IAN HARTE

Championship new boys Bournemouth have signed former Reading left-back Ian Harte on a one-year
deal, following his release from the Madejski Stadium.

EX BLACKPOOL MIDFIELDER SIGNS FOR TURKISH CLUB

Former Blackpool midfielder Ludovic Sylvestre has joined Turkish club Caykur Rizespor on a free transfer.

Sylvestre turned down a new deal at Blackpool this summer after seeing his contract expire at the end of last season.
A number of English clubs are thought to have expressed an interest in signing Sylvestre, but the 29-year-old has opted to move to Turkey.
Sylvestre has signed a three-year deal at Rizespor after passing a medical and agreeing personal terms.
News of Sylvestre's departure is a blow for Blackpool boss Paul Ince as the former Barcelona man had established himself as a key player in his side.

HULL CITY SIGN ELMOHAMADY FROM SUNDERLAND

Premier League new boys Hull City have
completed the signing of former loanee Ahmed Elmohamady from Sunderland for an undisclosed fee.

LAHM: WE NEED TIME TO ADJUST TO PEP GUARDIOLA

Philipp Lahm has admitted that Bayern Munich will need time to get used to Pep Guardiola ahead of the new Bundesliga season.

The 42-year-old signed a three-year deal with the Bavarians back in January and replaces Jupp Heynckes - who lifted the treble with the club last term.

Guardiola has now started work this week as Bayern prepare for the 2013-14 campaign and Lahm believes a period of adaptation is to be expected.

"We need time to get used to Guardiola, but that won't take long. We are all paying close attention to what's happening. Pre-season is long enough to get used to each other. I am not worried about that," Lahm told Bild.

"He is communicating all the time and does a lot of talking. He wants us to understand him as soon as possible. Plenty of things will change.

"I have already experienced a lot of coach swaps, though, so this is nothing extraordinary for me. It's all part of the job.

"It's just like when someone gets another boss in any other company. Different things all of a sudden become more important. It's too soon to draw any conclusions, though."

Guardiola's first official game in charge of Bayern will be the German supercup clash against Borussia Dortmund on July 27.

UNDER 20 WORLD CUP: NIGERIA AND PORTUGAL PROGRESS

Portugal and Nigeria won their final Group B matches to reach the last 16 of the Under-20 World Cup on Thursday, while third-place South Korea still has a chance of advancing.
Portugal striker Bruma scored his fourth and fifth goals of the event to help the two-time champions beat Cuba 5-0 and top the group, while Nigeria defeated South Korea 1-0 after an early goal by Olarenwaju Kayode and overtook the Asians for second place.

Ricardo, Aladje and To Ze also found the net for Portugal, while Bruma almost added a sixth when his thundering 20-meter (yard) effort hit the top of the crossbar.
It was Portugal's biggest ever win in the competition, improving on 3-0 defeats of Argentina in 1991 and the Netherlands four years later.
Portugal won the title in 1989 and '91 and finished runner-up to Brazil two years ago. Cuba, which lost all three games and became the first team to be eliminated, was making its first appearance in the tournament.
Nigeria secured its victory after Kayode was left unmarked by the South Korean defense and headed home a free kick by captain Abdul Ajagun in the ninth minute.
South Korea, which held Portugal to a 2-2 draw Monday, dominated play for large parts of the second half but lacked creativity in attack.
The best four teams to finish third in the six groups will advance to the knockout stage, along with all the group winners and runners-up.
In the last matches of Group A, the United States was taking on Ghana and Spain was playing France later Thursday. Spain won its two previous matches and has already secured its spot in the next round