'We can’t force Bale to stay at Spurs'

Tottenham director Keith Mills has admitted the club are almost powerless to keep Gareth Bale if he wants to move to Real Madrid, even though he signed a new four-year contract only last summer.

Real Madrid have confirmed they are in talks over Bale and a potential world record transfer, with Spurs said to be demanding in excess of £80 million (€92 million).

Manager Andre Villas-Boas has said the player is not for sale, but Spurs recognise any attempts to keep the Wales international against his will would be futile.

Mills admitted: “We very much want Bale to stay.

“If a player is desperate to leave, it’s very difficult to force him to stay. We’ve seen it in other clubs. Even if he has a contract, you can’t force somebody to play for you.”

Despite feverish speculation that Bale, who scored 26 goals for the club last year, would not turn up for training as planned yesterday, the Welshman did show.

Tottenham yesterday also insisted their decision to remove Bale’s image from the club’s official Twitter page was unrelated to the ongoing transfer saga.

Bale, who scored 26 goals for the club last year, has not played for Spurs since their first game of the summer — a 1-1 draw against Swindon on July 16. He missed the club’s pre-season tour of Hong Kong because of a gluteal injury and did not travel to Monaco after suffering a foot problem.

Meanwhile the future of Liverpool striker Luis Suarez is again in focus after he did not travel with the Reds to Norway for today’s pre-season friendly against Valerenga.

The Premier League club confirmed the Uruguayan, a transfer target for Arsenal, would stay behind “as a precaution following an injury in training yesterday”. Liverpool announced on their website: “He will undergo a scan on his foot later today.”

Manager Brendan Rodgers takes a 21-man squad that includes captain Steven Gerrard but is also shorn of Daniel Agger, Martin Skrtel and Glen Johnson who have what the club describe as “knocks”.

Liverpool’s announcement may cause a fresh rush of speculation concerning Suarez’s future, however their position is clear in explaining the striker’s absence from the trip.

Suarez has made it clear to the Reds he wants to play in the Champions League and that has alerted Arsenal, who have made two failed bids, the last an offer of £40,000,001.

Arsenal believed such a proposal would trigger a sale clause in his contract but Liverpool are adamant that figure only requires them to inform the player of the offer and negotiate if they wish to sell.

Suarez made his second appearance at Anfield in three days on Monday, when the club held an open training session for about 5,000 selected fans. Just like during his 30-minute cameo in Gerrard’s testimonial against Olympiacos on Saturday, the striker was cheered at every opportunity by fans but he was reluctant to acknowledge such support. The injury Liverpool have now revealed he sustained may explain that attitude.

Liverpool have taken a firm stance regarding the former Ajax striker since rumours began over his future, making it clear that they do not want to sell him.

Yet conjecture about his future refuses to go away, with legal action and Premier League arbitration reported to be possible routes his advisers are exploring.

Suarez is suspended for the first six games of the season as his 10-match ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic is carried over.

Elsewhere Meanwhile Manchester City have suffered a defensive blow with confirmation centre-back Matija Nastasic faces six weeks on the sidelines.

* Ireland’s Richard Dunne made his return to action as he started for QPR in last night’s 2-0 Capital One Cup first round win.