The long-running saga regarding the transfer of Tottenham Hotspurs winger Gareth Bale to Real Madrid appears to be reaching the final straight after the Spanish press announced the two clubs have reached an agreement of around 120 million euros for the Welsh international.

That would be a world record fee, eclipsing the 95 million Real Madrid paid for Cristiano Ronaldo four years ago, although the deal has yet to be made official, as highlighted by Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.

"It is difficult to talk about Bale because at the moment he is not a Real Madrid," Ancelotti said at Real's training camp in Los Angeles.

However, Ancelotti went as close as he could to confirming the negotiations when he admitted, "I believe the club is in talks to find a solution and we will see what happens."

Tottenham are thought to want a Real Madrid player to be included as part of the deal and young striker Alvaro Morata has been mentioned as a possible makeweight, as well as Luka Modric, just 12 months after he left Tottenham to join Madrid, although Ancelotti ruled out a return to London for the Croatian.

"All of the players are happy to be here with us. We have not spoken about any player leaving. It's completely false that Modric could leave. He is a very important player for us. Modric will play for Madrid this season," he said.

Meanwhile Tottenham have already begun planning for life after Bale and have reached agreement with Valencia to sign Spain international striker Roberto Soldado, who scored 30 goals in 46 appearances last season.

"The agreement with Tottenham is total," confirmed Valencia President Amadeo Salvo, who confirmed the deal would go through once a small problem with the agent involved in the deal had been resolved.