Bale commited to Spurs, wants to emulate Giggs
Having become the talk of European football with his two brilliant performances against Inter Milan, Gareth Bale says he hopes to emulate the success enjoyed by his compatriot Ryan Giggs.
After scoring a hat-trick in a 4-3 defeat in Italy, Bale was once again in tremendous form on Tuesday night as he gave Brazil right-back Maicon a torrid time in Tottenham's 3-1 win at White Hart Lane.
Bale's performances have been lauded across the continent and the Tottenham star has inevitably been linked with a number of elite clubs, most notably the team he tormented, Inter.
Nerazzurri president Massimo Moratti previously tried to sign Giggs from Manchester United, only to fail to lure him to Italy, and it is believed Bale, 21, could be a possible target when the transfer window opens.
However, Bale says he is committed to Tottenham and that he will seek to emulate the success enjoyed by Giggs in English football.
"He's shown, ever since he made his debut, what a good player and what a good person he is for football," Bale said. "He's an amazing person to follow and hopefully I can come a little bit near him.
"It's obviously nice to get people talking about you, saying nice things. But I know I have to keep working hard and keep improving and that's all I want to do."
When pressed on whether he would honour the new four-year contract that he signed in the summer, Bale replied: "Yeah, as I said I want to keep playing at Tottenham and keep enjoying my football. I'm just enjoying playing and enjoy playing at Tottenham at the moment. We've got a lot to look forward to.
"I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, it's a bit surreal. Every footballer knows it comes with the game if you're doing well. It's kind of nice. Being viewed as a 'hot property' does not make me feel any different than I have been feeling."
Luka Modric has also said he will be staying at Tottenham, despite speculation that Barcelona could attempt to sign him.
"Me going to Barcelona? Yes, I really hope that, but only as a Tottenham player in the next round of the Champions League," Modric told Sportske Novosti. "Let's be serious. All this is just so-called exclusive rumours, but I don't know who really needs them. Are they funny? Yes, they are very funny for me.
"But of course, it is always nice to see your name being linked with such a club as Barcelona, but one has to keep their feet on the ground. At the end of the day it's just rumours without any foundation. And I really don't want to talk about all this anymore. Since I moved here newspapers are always talking about me leaving for somewhere else.
"First it was Chelsea, then Inter Milan and also Manchester United, now it is Barcelona. But the only truth is that I just recently signed a new contract with Tottenham. London is such a great place and at White Hart Lane I feel just like home. I know that the fans are happy with me, I have all the support I need to develop even more.
"I can make my football dreams come true with Tottenham and that is why all my thoughts and also my future is with this club."