Defoe: Bale must stay at Spurs

No one needs to tell Tottenham fans how remarkable this season is for the club, who are in the prestigious Champions League for the first time in 50 long-awaited years.

Merely qualifying for the competition at the expense of moneybags Manchester City could be seen as an accomplishment.

The winger has since been linked with a number of high-profile moves to Europe's top clubs, but Defoe believes he would be better off staying put.

"It's always good to hear big clubs abroad saying nice things about you and Gareth deserves all the praise he is getting," Defoe said in The Mirror.

"But just look at how long it took for him to adapt to moving between clubs here in England. He moved to Spurs from Southampton three years ago. It's not as easy as people may think.

"To do it abroad must be even harder. In any case, I remember the manager saying earlier this season that we are probably two players away from winning the Premier League.

"I'd agree, which is why I don't see my own future anywhere else but at Spurs. Tottenham are not a selling club. We are a coming force and big clubs keep their best players."

"I don't think you can go overboard about him. What he is producing is there for everyone to see," he said.

"It's like having an in-form forward who is scoring goals on a regular basis. Nobody can accuse people of going overboard about you because you are doing the business. You are performing.

"Gareth is doing it at the highest level of club football. To go to the San Siro and get a hat-trick against the kings of European football?

"He is the ideal wingman because when he gets down there and you are waiting in the box, you know he is going to find you."

Gregg Davies is the Chief Sub Editor of FourFourTwo magazine, joining the team in January 2008 and spending seven years working on the website. He supports non-league behemoths Hereford and commentates on Bulls matches for Radio Hereford FC. His passions include chocolate hobnobs and attempting to shoehorn Ronnie Radford into any office conversation.