Tottenham would be foolish to even consider Bale-like money for Manchester City target

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Manchester City reportedly want Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli, but will have to pay a hefty price it seems.

Tottenham’s Dele Alli and Ben Davies celebrate

A report in the Manchester Evening News has suggested that Tottenham will demand something like the fee that they got when Gareth Bale moved to Real Madrid in 2013 should a team approach them about a move for Dele Alli.

The Manchester Evening News reports that Manchester City are considering a swoop for the 20-year-old as Pep Guardiola looks to recruit some of the best English players in the Premier League, but even if the Citizens make an offer that involves an almost-world record setting amount, Tottenham should look at what happened following Bale’s departure and turn every offer down.

Alli has been sensational since moving to White Hart Lane, so it is hardly surprising that Tottenham would want a fee close to a world record amount if they were going to consider a deal.

The former MK Dons man has scored 23 goals and contributed 12 assists in the Premier League in less than two seasons, and is at an age where he still has the potential to make giant strides in the game.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy

And based on the mistakes they made when Bale departed for the Bernabeu, it makes no sense to let him go even for an astronomical fee, let alone to a Premier League rival.

In the same summer Bale left, Tottenham spent over £100 million (via BBC Sport), and while Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela remain with the club from that spree, the likes of Paulinho, Nacer Chadli, Roberto Soldado, Etienne Capoue and Vlad Chiriches have all departed having made little impact for the club.

Alli appears to have the potential to be as big a star as Bale is, so it would be foolish for Tottenham to cash in on him as they will know that replacing him will be near-on impossible.

And even if they adopt a different strategy to last time and target one marquee name, which player available for that money would be a worthy replacement and would be willing to leave their current club for a team that has just sold one of their best players?