Gareth Bale Bio Send To Friend  

Tottenham Hotspur secured the signature Gareth Bale, one of the hottest prospects in British football, when they secured a four deal with Southampton's teenage sensation in May 2007.

The promising left-back enjoyed a superb start to his Spurs career with goals against Fulham, Arsenal and Middlesbrough. But an injured foot would ruin his debut campaign and limit him to just 12 appearances in the 2007/08 season.

A left-back with a gift for free-kicks and a flair for attacking, Bale made his Southampton first team debut at the tender age of 16 years and 275 days in a Championship game against Millwall on April 17 2006.

His second season as a first-teamer at Saints saw him linked with many Premiership clubs, with Manchester United said to be leading the chase. In the end, Bale opted to head for Spurs, where competition for a left-back place was perhaps not so rife.

Bale's future as a Saints player looked to be linked to promotion success but his absence from the second leg of the play-off semi-final through injury may well have cost his club.

They were able to profit through the sale of Bale, who cost Spurs an initial £5m rising to possible £10m depending on appearances and Spurs' success.

He made 45 appearances for Southampton, scoring five goals.

Bale is already Wales' youngest ever international, playing for them against Trinidad and Tobago at just 16 years and 315 days to break Lewin Nyatanga's three-month old record. And he's also his country's youngest ever scorer, having scored against Slovakia on 7 October 2006 with a trademark free-kick.