GUNTER FIRST INThe Club has confirmed that we will complete the signing of Wales defender Chris Gunter from Cardiff when the transfer window opens in January. The Welsh international thus becomes Juande Ramos' first signing at Spurs.
The 18-year-old full-back has made 33 first-team appearances and won three Wales caps since breaking into the Bluebirds first team in August last year.
The two clubs reached agreement over what is reported to be a £2million deal last week and the player underwent a medical over the weekend.
Cardiff boss Dave Jones admits there was no way the club "could stand in the way" of Chris Gunter's dream move to Barclays Premier League side Tottenham.
Despite only making 33 appearances for the Bluebirds, Gunter has established himself as one of the most exciting players outside the top flight - a belief backed up by the fact he has already won three caps for Wales.
While Cardiff will sorely miss his presence on the right flank, Jones concedes they had no option but to allow him a move to White Hart Lane.
"He is a young prospect - we wish him all the best," Jones told Sky Sports News.
"You can't deny the lad the opportunity, he's done really well and broken into the full international team.
"We're sad to see him go but there is no way we could have kept hold of him or stood in his way.
"What we said to him was go and prove to everybody the potential we all thought you had.
"He's a very raw boy, he's still got a lot to learn.
"If he breaks into Tottenham's first team this season it would be fantastic for the kid."
Jones believes Juande Ramos has signed a player every bit as promising as Bale, who joined from Coca-Cola Championship side Southampton in the summer.
He added: "He's very athletic, he's got great pace and can pick out a pass. He will get stronger and stronger.
"He's still not fully developed and I think Tottenham know they've bought somebody who they're going to have to nature along, just like we were trying to do here.
"Maybe they will have to be a little bit patient with him, because he is still learning his trade.
"I feel they've bought another good prospect like Gareth Bale - he's just as good and capable on the right-hand side."
CHRIS GUNTER PROFILE
Chris Gunter (born July 21, 1989 in Newport, Wales) is a Welsh footballer, currently playing for Cardiff City and has played for the Wales national team. He is the youngest Cardiff City player ever to play for the full Welsh team.
Gunter started life as a striker when he played for Durham Colts and Albion Rovers. But switched to full-back at a young age and signed for the Cardiff City youth side at the age of eight. He signed his first professional contract with the club on 1 August 2006 along with fellow Cardiff academy graduate Darcy Blake.
Primarily a right-sided defender, Gunter made his debut for Cardiff City on the 22 August 2006 against Barnet in the League Cup.
In March 2007 he won the Football League's Apprentice of the Year award after impressing in the first team squad due to injuries to some regular players and during the summer of 2007, Gunter was the subject of two bids from Premiership club Everton. Both, however, were rejected.[1]
Gunter is tipped to be a huge star in the Future, He is a Cardiff City fan and is happy to pull on the clubs colours, He has stated he would love to play in the Premiership and hopes to achieve that with Cardiff.
He started his Wales career in 2003-2004, making four appearances for the schools under-15 development squad before moving up to the Welsh Schools under-16 squad and played in a friendly against Republic of Ireland plus three Victory Shield internationals. He then made 11 appearances at Wales under-17 level during 2005-2006, playing in two rounds of the Uefa Championships as Wales qualified from the opening group to reach the elite stage. His next step was playing for the Wales U19 squad in the Milk Cup.[4]
Gunter, 17 years old, then became the second youngest player to play for the Wales Under-21 team when he played against Cyprus Under-21 at the age of 16 years and 299 days.
He eventually made his full international debut for Wales in a friendly match against New Zealand on 26 May 2007 at the Racecourse Ground, Wrexham; in doing so he became the youngest ever Cardiff City player to play for the senior Wales team. Gunter started as a left-back in a young and inexperienced Wales team in the teams Euro 2008 qualifiers against the Republic of Ireland and Germany giving very impressive performances in the games which ended 2-2 and 0-0.
