Gareth's only gone and Bale'd himself out of trouble

Talk about your ultimate turnarounds. Just a year and a half ago Gareth Bale couldn't get a win for Tottenham when he started, probably starting more times than Wayne Rooney scoring for Manchester United. Now the 21-year-old has become one of the Premier League's most dangerous left-sided players, and more importantly, Tottenham Hotspur's most prized asset.

Bale's displays in the past year have made in somewhate of a hit in England and across Europe. He's become so popular that a long list of clubs have been eyeing the Welshman as a transfer target in January. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter, AC Milan, Chelsea, Manchester United, Napoli, Bayern Munich are all just a number of clubs who have been vying for his signature.

Just at the start of last season, Tottenham couldn't buy a win whenever Bale was in the starting line-up. He went a record 24 matches without a competitive win for Spurs when he started. You'd expect that from a side who play a different team, but everytime Bale played, they just could not win. That record was finally ended in late September 2009 when Spurs beat Burnley, this being two years after Bale signed for the North London side from Southampton. Bale missed the first few weeks of this season because of injury and endured a torrid time of "bench warming" when Benoit Assou Ekotto was enjoying a fantastic spell as Tottenham's first choice left-back.

In April this year, Bale starred in Tottenham's biggest clashes of the year, beating Arsenal, a game in which he scored, then just three days later scoring again to earn his side victory over my beloved Chelsea in a 2-1 victory at White Hart Lane. His performance against the Blues earned him Man of the Match and impressive displays against Fulham in both the league and cup earned him Barclay's Premier League Player of the Month award.

This domestic season has seen Bale start where he left off. Two goals away to Stoke, including a cracking volley gave his side 3 points in a 2-1 win, and then 4 days later he created all four of Tottenham's goals in their 4-0 Champions League Qualifying Round match against Youngs Boys to put them through to the competition group stages.

Bale scored his first Champions' League goal in their 4-1 home win to FC Twente and in the same week he was named Welsh Footballer of the Year. However, what was to happen next would never be seen at all. Regardless of how well he's been playing, Bale, in my opinion thrives as an attacking left-sided player rather than a defender. He's good at left-back but is on numerous times caught out of position, and I feel having someone like assou-Ekotto behind him gives Bale the freedom to run forward then track back to help his defence when under pressure. Having the knowledge of two different positions gives the 21-year-old a maturity, a reponsibility and a knowledge of how to play the game.

This month is probably Bale's most recognisable. Julio Cesar is a superb keeper. He was officially named European goalkeeper of the Year thanks to his heroics in Inter's Champions' League winning season last year under the charismatic José Mourinho. It is very rare Cesar concedes 3 goals in one match, and when it does happen it is usually something special. So imagine this. Inter Milan are 4-0 up at half-time, at home, to a 10-man Tottenham Hotspur after keeper Heurelho Gomes was sent off after just 8 minutes of play.

I was at the university when this match was taking place. I was now expecting a drubbing and constantly texting my best mate Liam (a Spurs fan) about the potential thrashing his side were about to endure. Just 45 minutes later, Inter had failed to score and Gareth Bale had taken the game by the scruff of the neck and scored his first ever competitive hat-trick, two of these goals coming in the final minutes of the match.

The result was still a disappointment for Spurs, but even as a Chelsea supporter, I was full of admiration for the Welsh youngster. His recent performances in a Spurs shirt have given him well-deserved praise and respect. Even as a neutral though, and as much as I'd like to have a player of his potential at a club like Chelsea, the best thing for Gareth Bale is to resist temptation of a huge club and stay put with Spurs.

The fans love him, and he loves the club. He is only 21, and has years ahead of him to improve his game, score more goals and become known as the world's best left winger. In my opinion, a move now may well damage his career, and destroy all the work he has put in into becoming the player we all know him to be.