Barcelona Plan £30 Million Bid for Tottenham Ace - Report

La Liga giants Barcelona are lining up a £30 million bid for Tottenham winger Gareth Bale in the summer transfer window, according to Daily Mail. The Welshman has found a place in Barcelona's shopping list for next season as a long term replacement for left-back Eric Abidal, who recently underwent a liver transplant.

Although Bale does not now play as a defender, the Catalans believe he will be a perfect addition to their squad because their full-backs play a far more attacking role than those in most other squads. In addition, the European champions will be encouraged by the Spurs man's recent admission that an offer from either Barcelona or Real Madrid would be hard to turn down.

"If you are talking about Barcelona or Real Madrid, two of the biggest clubs in the world, then it's a bit like Harry and England, it's a once-in-a-lifetime dream. If you said to any young player that you could play for Barcelona or Real would they turn it down? Probably not. If a bid was accepted you would obviously have to seriously consider it," an earlier IBTimes UK report quoted Bale as saying.

The 22 year old is having an excellent season at Tottenham, with 10 goals and 11 assists from 31 league appearances. Given that kind of performance and his age, Barcelona will know Spurs will not allow their star player, who is also linked to Real Madrid and Inter Milan, go for a bargain deal. The report claims that Barcelona also want Arsenal striker Robin van Persie but the club will have to sell a few players to make a bid for the Gunners captain as they do not have a heavy transfer kitty for the summer.

The Dutchman, who has scored 27 goals in 33 league matches so far, will be out of contract next summer and has also managed to attract interest from Real Madrid, Manchester City and AC Milan.

Meanwhile, a Goal.com report says that Tottenham are reportedly prepared to sell either Gareth Bale or Luka Modric if the North London side fail to secure a Champions League spot by the end of the season. It is understood that Spurs will go through with the sale of one of the stars in order to make up for the money they would lose if they don't finish the season in the top four, says the report.