Andre Villas-Boas: We're "counting on" Gareth Bale staying

Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas has admitted that he is "counting on" Gareth Bale remaining at White Hart Lane next season.

The Welsh winger has been linked with a world-record breaking £85m move to Real Madrid this summer.

However, Villas-Boas believes that the PFA Player of the Year will stay with Spurs and lead their charge to get them back in the Champions League places next season.

"On Gareth, I want to repeat what I was telling you last season and what I was telling you from the beginning of pre-season so I cannot extend myself," Villas-Boas told reporters.

"He's a player that we are willing to continue to have, he's a Tottenham player, he's one of the most fantastic players in the world at the moment and we are counting on him for the future."

Meanwhile, former Spurs captain Ledley King believes that Bale is happy to stay at the club.