VIDEO Hox in the Box: The Welsh are coming...
9:54am Thursday 7th March 2013 in Sport By James Hoxey
Hox in the Box: Can Spurs keep Bale?
In footballing terms our neighbours across the Severn Bridge are entering something of a purple patch.
The rise of the Welsh is less meteoric and more a gentle ascent, but it's none the less impressive. With Swansea now the proud owners of some shiny new silverware to display in their hastily-built trophy cabinet, and Cardiff looking increasingly likely to join their south Wales rivals in the Premiership, it's a proud time for Welsh football fans.
Throw the form of potentially the best player to ever come out of the nation in Gareth Bale into the mix, and there are genuine reasons to get excited
Bale is a force of nature. And unlike some players with impressive goal-scoring tallies, his goals always seem to come at crucial times for Spurs. The opening goal in Sunday's north London derby, which saw him time his run perfectly to beat the offside trap before nonchalantly poking the ball past Wojciech Szczesny with the outside of his foot, was sublime.
At 23 years-old and with 25 goals already this season, he's fast approaching the time in his career where his stock is highest. The lure of playing for a Real Madrid or a Barcelona must be overwhelming, and because of that this summer could prove the most important in a generation for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
They will, in all likelihood, be one of our four representatives at the top table of world football, the Champions League, next season. Spurs' North London rivals Arsenal are old news. The new kids on the block play in white, and have been stealthily grinding out results while the Gunners fall apart. But the really big question is: can they keep hold of Bale?
The Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, has developed a reputation for being a shrewd businessman and a tough negotiator. But ultimately, he seems to always end up selling.
In the same way that Arsene Wenger is powerless to stop all of his stars going to Man City, Levy has been unable to prevent his most prominent figures leaving White Hart Lane.
Unlike Arsenal, though, he gets the best price possible. Berbatov cost Man Utd £31 million, Carrick went to the same club for £18 million, and both deals took a huge amount of negotiating.
And then there was Modric, who was itching for a move almost as soon as he signed a new 4 year contract - he didn't really think that one through. Levy had the power and wielded it effectively. Modric stayed put. But eventually, as top players always do, the Croat got his own way and off he went to Real Madrid.
It took a while, but with clauses and add-ons his price reached £35 million, which is not to be sniffed at considering he spends most of his time sulking on the bench.
But the 'Real' test will be this summer when, if as predicted, a host of clubs come knocking on Levy's door. Can he keep Bale at the club? Well, news coming out of Germany suggests Bayern Munich are ready to steal a march on the rest of Europe with an eye watering £86 million bid for Brazilian sensation Neymar, so that rules them out.
Barcelona might be interested. With their manager leaving and a season that looks set to be defined by what happens in the return leg of their knock-out tie with AC Milan, they will almost certainly spend big on someone - perhaps Bale.
But it looks increasingly likely that it will be Madrid who test Levy's resolve, and the outcome could tell us a lot about the growing shift of power in English football. Keep him at White Hart Lane, build a team around him, and they have a genuine chance of challenging for the title over the next few years.
Because remember, it's not just Bale's quality on the pitch. It's his marketability when looking to lure other potentially world class players to the Lane. What a statement of intent it would be if Gareth Bale were still at Spurs next year. It wouldn't go unnoticed.
But there remains that niggling fear that Levy, with his businessman's hat on, will be swayed by a £60 million bid from Madrid, or Barcelona.
And then it will be back to business as usual, with Spurs left scrapping around for sixth place next year.
But regardless of what the summer brings, one thing is for sure. The rise of Bale combined with Swansea's first ever European adventure next year, and Cardiff's imminent arrival in the Premier League can't be ignored.
Be warned, the Welsh are coming.
