GARETH Bale is in a very rich vein of form right now, isn't he?
He is one of the rare ones bought for a large amount of money that has done well because sometimes when you're young, it causes you a problem.
He's managed to handle it and he's getting better all the time, and he's maturing as well, spending a lot of time practising some free-kicks in an unusual way – well done to him.
It's quite sensational to watch and never have I seen someone get it up and down so quickly with so much dip, it's fantastic.
It's obviously very, very difficult for goalkeepers to handle. Just how good he'll be eventually, who knows?
Potentially he's still got all sorts of improving to do because he's still so young, and it's interesting how he's floating in and out of the game.
He's not staying wide, he's actually drifting and he's turning into a fantastic player.
I think we've been spoilt over the years with left-footed players. You've got Ryan Giggs and Robin Van Persie, for example, and they seem to look more elegant funnily enough, don't they?
You don't do anything without hard work, so that's the truth of it – it's not just talent, it's his all-round game, his work-rate and his athleticism which is quite phenomenal.
If you're doing well somewhere, why do you need to go anywhere else as a young player?
It seems to be suiting him at Tottenham because he's developing and he's a big fish in that pool now.
They've got a half-decent team around him fighting for a Champions League place, but it's only a matter of time before he becomes a really sought-after commodity.
I would imagine only a few clubs in the world can afford him and I think it's already limited with that.
How many teams are better than Tottenham at the moment? Not many.
I think it's almost impossible to put a value on him, but you've got to be talking top-end. They bought him for £10 million from Southampton, and he was a left-back then.
It's quite amazing how many players change, develop and grow and actually end up playing somewhere different.
I think Ashley Cole started out as a left winger but he's gone the other way to left-back, so it's nice to see it happen, but Bale's blinding pace is absolutely brilliant.
It's now being added to with a product, whether it's a cross, a shot or a finish, he's actually getting what every wide man and every forward needs, which is an end product.
It's now a regular end product so you can only stand back and say 'wow'.
All these players start out to see how good they can be, not how rich they can get.
How good is it that Jonny Williams will eventually end up playing with Bale for Wales and that will only help his game.
I'm more impressed with Bale's brain more than anything else. I think quick players are easily branded if they understand the game, but his movement, his running, his vision – everything about his game is really on form and I hope it continues.
Wales have a decent young crop coming through and I've got three with me at the moment in Jonny, Jazz Richards and Darcy Blake.
It's a very good future for the Welsh.
