Gareth Bale signing will see Chelsea dominate for years says Gary Neville

Chelsea will build the foundations for years of dominance if they win the race to sign Gareth Bale from Real Madrid in the summer, according to ex-England defender Gary Neville.

Following a wretched second season with Real, Bale has already been linked with a return to the Premier League with the Blues, along with Manchester City and Manchester United, among the teams to be linked with the Wales international.

And Neville has sent a warning to Chelsea's Premier League rivals buy claiming Jose Mourinho's side will be set up for years of success should they capture Bale this summer.

"There's one player touted about possibly becoming available this summer and that's Bale," he said. "The talk is he's going to go to Manchester United, Chelsea or Manchester City. One of those three, if he becomes available.

"If Chelsea win that battle, and say they lost Oscar or Ramires or a player like that for say £50m-£60m, they would be getting [Bale] at a net cost of £25m. I think the rest of the teams are in trouble for the next couple of years I really do."

Strong youth prospects at Stamford Bridge

Victory over Crystal Palace, which secured the Premier League title, represented the second piece of silverware clinched by the Stamford Bridge club in the space of a week following the 5-2 aggregate win over Manchester City in the FA Youth Cup.

The fourth success in the competition in the past six seasons sees Chelsea's academy cemented as the finest in country but during Roman Abramovich's tenure as owner, no home-grown graduate has become a regular part of the squad.

Mourinho has promised to promote players from Chelsea's youth system and Neville says he must be allowed license to make such changes, even if success on the pitch it sacrificed.

"Apparently Abramovich has been at the Under-21s game [against Fulham], they have won four out of the last six Youth Cups," he added. "Mourinho's big thing now is longevity at the club is to bring those young players through.

"He has some fantastic young players. He said it would be a failure if he didn't bring those young players through. If they get Bale and start to bring through some of the best young talent in the country, which they've got, the rest could be in a little bit of trouble.

"You cannot win four Youth Cups in six years and not bring a player through. Roman Abramovich is going to have to give Mourinho the confidence that it is not all about the immediate.

"That is Jose Mourinho's task moving forward to stay at a club long enough and bring those players through."