Gareth Bale unhappy at Tottenham’s handling of proposed transfer to Real Madrid, ...fails to report for training

Gareth Bale failed to report for training on Tuesday amid reports that he is unhappy at Tottenham’s handling of his proposed transfer to Real Madrid.

Bale had been expected to meet up with his Tottenham team-mates after missing the weekend’s win against Swansea through injury, but the delay in his world record £86m move to Madrid has left Bale ‘furious and frustrated’ and as a result he will not return to training as planned.

Reports emerged on Monday that Tottenham were in talks with other clubs for the player, but Real remain confident that they will soon sign the 24-year-old.

Indeed, a report in the Spanish newspaper Marca claims that the club are optimistic they will have announcement to make before the end of the day with a view to unveiling him on Wednesday. That could pave the way for Bale to be included in Carlo Ancelotti’s side for Thursday’s friendly match against Deportivo La Coruna at the Riazor.

In a further twist, Press Association Sport is reporting that the winger is on his way to Spain after a deal was finally reached between Spurs and Real

Speaking after Bale missed Sunday’s win, manager Andre Villas-Boas revealed he expected him to return to training on Tuesday.

“Monday is a day off. Tuesday is training so I would expect him to be there,” he said.

“We have allowed him two days off.

“It’s not the first time this has come up. We never force non-selected players to come to our games. I decided that last season.”