But typical of the spirit that Harry Redknapp has instilled in the squad since his arrival in 2008, Spurs rallied in the second half with Gareth Bale scoring a stunning hat-trick. While they may not have been able to complete the comeback, their display will certainly give them confidence ahead of Inter’s visit to White Hart Lane in a fortnight.
It was Bale though who will really have emerged from the San Siro with his confidence boosted. The former Southampton man has come on leaps and bounds over the last 12 months, and his second half display today was arguably his finest in a Tottenham shirt.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp believes that Bale can only continue to develop and insists that he has no intention to cash in on his prized asset. It is understood that Inter made an enquiry for Bale during the summer only to see this quickly rejected.
Redknapp said:”It was a fantastic hat-trick from Gareth. If Tottenham sell Gareth Bale now, it would send out the wrong signals; it would be a club that was a selling club.
“He is a player that we hope to build a team around. He signed a new contract at the club and, hopefully, he’ll be here for a good few years to come. If Tottenham progress and become a Champions League team on a regular basis, he’ll become a big part of the team.”
The news will come as big relief for Tottenham fans who have seen several big stars move on over the last few seasons. During his Southampton days Bale showed his obvious class, but after moving to Tottenham his progress stalled somewhat.
However during the later stages of last season, and already so far this campaign Bale is really establishing himself as a key part of the Spurs side, and in many ways I think Redknapp is doing Bale a injustice by saying he is already not a big part of the team.
How good can Bale be is another question, but all the abilities are there and he is now proving he can do it at the very top level. Can Bale go on to be a genuine star? Well if he can keep producing the same levels of quality that he produced against Inter, there really could be no stopping him.
