Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino open to signing Gareth Bale equivalent in future transfer windows

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has reiterated that he is open to re-signing Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale as the club refocuses their efforts to signing world-class players in future transfer windows. Spurs are not expected to make any additions to their squad before the end of the current January transfer window but their Argentine boss would be open to adding a higher calibre of player.

The comments follow revelations via Football Leaks that a clause in the agreement which saw Bale move to the Bernabeu in the summer of 2013 would allow the north London club to hijack any deal for the Wales international if and when he leaves the Spanish capital – should they match the offer made by a rival club. Pochettino quipped he would be open to such a deal, but has now gone into further detail over the club's revised transfer policy.

Following the failed attempts to replace the void left by Bale with a number of ill-judged signings, Tottenham altered their policy in the transfer window with the focus on acquiring young players who have a high resale value. However, Pochettino says that despite the club having to finance their new stadium there is a new focus on signing world class players rather than stockpiling.

"If we [Tottenham] have the possibility, he [Bale] is a player who is welcome in the changing room because we know him," he said according to ESPN. "Or if we have the possibility to sign Messi or Neymar, it's impossible to say no. The problem is when you bring a some player who is a normal player, who isn't a good man and you say: 'For what?' We need to bring a player with the right profile and enough quality to improve the squad.

"We are in a different project than a few years ago because we're in the process of building a new stadium," the Tottenham boss added. "You know the difficult period another club had. "For me when you spend more than £15m, £16m, £18m you must have a player that brings good things: good behaviour, discipline, responsibility, professionalism, it's very important to get it right.

"If we spend £25-30 million, we need to be sure that this type of player represents Bale or Cristiano for Real Madrid, or Messi or Neymar for Barcelona. We need to speak about a player that is our best player and need to help us to achieve a lot of things. It's impossible to sign a player for this amount who we need to wait to perform."