Andre Villas-Boas: 'Gareth Bale among world's best'

Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas has claimed that Gareth Bale is currently "up there" with the best players in world football.

The Welsh winger, 23, scored the second hat-trick of his professional career earlier today, as Spurs recorded an emphatic 4-0 win over Aston Villa.

After the match, when asked by Sky Sports News if there were any players in the world that are better than Bale, Villas-Boas replied: "He is up there with the best.

"He is showing tremendous skills and talent. I think he is improving every day - he is such a young player - and he is helping the team. He is one of our major assets.

"His personality is wonderful, he is going through an excellent moment of his professional and personal life, and we are benefiting from that."

Earlier this month, The Guardian ranked Bale in 40th place on a list titled 'the top 100 footballers in the world'.