Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp insists Gareth Bale's future is at White Hart Lane.

Bale, 19, arrived from Southampton in a deal worth £10million at the start of last season and was hailed as one of the finest young left-backs around - but he is currently behind Benoit Assou-Ekotto in the pecking order.

There is also the lingering statistic that Bale has not featured in a Barclays Premier League win yet, although he did spend most of last season sidelined through injury.

"Eventually that will change," Redknapp said. "I see him as a great left-back eventually. But he has to learn the game and become a stronger defender to become a great left-back. But he has everything in his locker to be a great player.

"It's parts of his games like the one on ones, things like that. We just need to toughen him up a bit but he's got everything else."