Barcelona star Dani Alves admits Gareth Bale is a player he loves to watch and described him as a "full-back in the Brazilian style".

The talented Welsh flyer has been linked with a move to the Nou Camp after impressing for Tottenham Hotspur both at home and abroad. Officials from the Catalan giants have travelled to England to watch Bale on a number of occasions this season. Those betting on football in favour of Spurs would love to see Bale attack opposition from deep.

Alves rates the 22-year-old highly and expects him to flourish as a full-back rather than a winger in the years to come.

"He is a player I love to watch. The idea Bale has of football is really quite similar to the Brazilian perspective," the Brazil international told The Independent.

"He is a full-back in the Brazilian style. In Europe they play more defensively so they tend to play him as a winger, but in my team he would be a full-back. He is a spectacular player."

While Alves believes Bale is a high-class player, he could not say whether he would fit into Barcelona’s philosophy.

"Barca always sign players who they know will fit into the team. It's never a case of, 'Oh he's playing well. People are talking about him a lot so let's sign him'," Alves added.

"Barcelona look at everything. They ask themselves if the player can fit 'here, here and here' and if they decide that yes, he would fit 'there, there and there', then they make their move."

Alves, who will line up against Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, refused to rule out a move to the Premier League in the future.

"You always have to leave the doors open because we don't know what is going to happen tomorrow," he added.

The odds of Spurs qualifying for the Champions League next year has slipped in Premier League best odds.