Tim Sherwood believes that Tottenham’s decision to sell Gareth Bale to Real Madrid last summer cost them a push for the Premier League title and Champions League football this term.

The Welsh star was allowed to join the La Liga giants late on in last year’s main transfer window in a world-record £86m deal after being chased by the Bernabeu side for much of the previous few months.

Before his departure Bale was, arguably, English football’s top performer, with his goalscoring antics from midfield almost firing Spurs into the Champions League.

With his departure, Tottenham set about snapping up a series of talented players from across Europe in a £110m spend, but few – Christian Eriksen has been the standout performer – have impressed at White Hart Lane.

Sherwood – who also looks likely to leave the club in the coming weeks – feels that the decision to let Bale leave ruined this season for the sixth placed side:

“We're taking out one of the best players in the world and replacing him with seven players who have never played in this competition before.” He is quoted by the Daily Star.

"How on earth did people think we would be title challengers or even make the top four?

"If you don't know the game you could possibly think that they would all hit the floor running but it doesn't happen, they need time.

"This club will be better with those seven players next season - they'll have experience of the competition and they will improve from that."

"It was hyped - the hype was ridiculous.

"We've qualified for the Champions League once - why have we got a divine right to qualify for the Champions League?

"Where we've finished in sixth is where we should be, it's where we are as a club.

"We all want to aspire to the top four and the title but we aren't getting there with what we've got.

"To remove a match winner like Gareth Bale out of that squad - we shouldn't have expected it after that."

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