Sigurdsson: Bale can attract the best to Tottenham

Jul 26, 2013 9:08:00 AM

The Spurs midfielder hopes that the Welshman will not be tempted by Real Madrid as he serves to entice big-name players to White Hart Lane for a potential title push

Tottenham midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson hopes that Gareth Bale stays at White Hart Lane, where his presence would attract more big names to the club.

Real Madrid are conducting a charm offensive in the hopes of luring the 24-year-old winger to the Santiago Bernabeu but Spurs insist that the Wales star is not for sale and the Iceland international feels that hanging onto their talisman would be a huge boost for his side.

"He is important from that point of view. Good players want to play with other big players," Sigurdsson told the press. "It's a big club and hopefully he'll stay and we'll bring in a few other good players.

"He's a great player and if he stays it will be fantastic. I'm sure he will stay."

Tottenham enjoyed a strong 2012-13 Premier League season, finishing fifth - a point behind Arsenal - and the 23-year-old hopes that the additions of the likes of Paulinho and Nacer Chadli can push Andre Villas-Boas's side into the Champions League reckoning and, potentially, given the upheaval elsewhere in the league, further.

"The players here talk about the season [in 2009-10] they got into the Champions League and how fantastic it was," Sigurdsson added, "then missing out when Chelsea won the Champions League and being fifth last season was extremely disappointing.

"You never know how it will pan out. Manchester United have changed their manager for the first time in a very long time. It'll be interesting to see how that goes.

"There could be a couple of other teams fighting for the title and there's going to be about six teams fighting for the Champions League places." ---------------------- goal.com