adminLONDON. — Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas yesterday confirmed that the English Premier League soccer side were in talks with Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala over the signing of Brazilian attacking midfielder Willian.Villas-Boas admits talks have taken place over a move for Willian and remained coy over Gareth Bale – prompting suggestions a move to Real Madrid is done
According to British media reports, Willian arrived in London on Tuesday and Spurs are hoping to complete a move for him by the weekend.
Speaking during a media conference ahead of Tottenham’s Europa League play-off first leg away to Georgian club Dinamo Tbilisi today, Villas-Boas admitted that negotiations were under way.
“I can’t really confirm anything regarding Willian. There is interest in the player and there have been conversations,” said the Portuguese, in comments widely reported in the British media.
Willian (25) only joined Anzhi from Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in January, but he is being moved on after the Russian club’s billionaire owner Suleiman Kerimov decided to restructure the club and drastically shrink their budget.
Reports in the British media claim Spurs are prepared to break their transfer record for the third time during the current transfer window by paying Anzhi £30 million to secure Willian’s services.
The north London club paid £17 million to sign Brazilian midfielder Paulinho from Corinthians before parting with a reported fee of £26 million to bring Spain striker Roberto Soldado to White Hart Lane from Valencia.
The move for Willian would take Spurs’ total spending in the transfer window to around £90 million, but they are reportedly poised to sell star forward Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for a world-record fee in excess of £80 million. Bale has not made the trip to Georgia for today’s game because of a foot injury.
Willian had been linked with a move to Liverpool but appears to have been lured by the guarantee of European football at White Hart Lane this season.
Spurs could yet add Roma striker Erik Lamela to their ranks in a transfer that would take their outlay during this window to almost £120m.
A good proportion of that could be recouped if the club were to accept Real Madrid’s world-record offer for Gareth Bale, and it is understood a resolution to the saga of the summer could now come within days.
Portugal left-back Fabio Coentrao has long been mentioned as a possible makeweight in any deal for Bale.
Speaking about Coentrao and Lamela at a press conference ahead of Spurs’ Europa League game against Dinamo Tbilisi, Villas-Boas said: “They have not signed for Spurs. Both of them are great, great players, but I cannot extend myself.”
Meanwhile, ousted Anzhi Makhachkala boss Rene Meulensteen believes Spurs will have landed “a major trump card” if they push through a deal for Willian.
“I’ve worked with him for a short time but I really, really like him. He will be an asset for whoever’s going to get him,” said Meulensteen on Sky Sports News.
“If it’s Spurs that’s going to get him they’ll get an excellent player. He’s very versatile, he can play in different positions, he’s a very creative player and an excellent professional with a very good personality.
“He’s going to be a major trump card for Spurs if they can get the deal to go through.
“He can beat a player, he can score a goal. I thought he was an absolute delight to work with.”
Spurs, who finished fifth in the Premier League last season, opened the new campaign with a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace on Sunday.
And Guillem Balague has revealed how Arsenal missed out on signing Spanish international David Villa for potentially as little as 2.3m euros.
The 31-year-old joined Atletico Madrid from Barcelona this summer as he brought to an end his three-year stay at the Nou Camp.
Balague told Revista that Arsenal tried to sign the player in January but failed to follow up that interest when Barcelona were eager to offload the forward this summer.
Villa was largely restricted to appearances off the bench in his final season at the Nou Camp as he made his way back from a broken leg, which kept him out of the game for eight months.
And this, Balague suspects, was what deterred Arsene Wenger from making another bid for the player.
“In January Arsenal came and offered a four-year deal, about 20m euros, and some money for Barcelona. Barcelona said they were not selling,” Balague told Revista.
“So I think that David Villa, who took his kids to a British school, expected Arsenal to come back but they didn’t, because they saw that David Villa in the last six months was not happy and wasn’t playing well, and they probably thought he is not what he was.
“Atletico Madrid came in and they got a deal for 2.5m euros – that is all for the first year.
“If he stays for three years it is 4.6m euros. Why so cheap? I found out that Barcelona have a first option on (18-year-old Atletico midfielder) Oliver Torres.
“Now if Atletico fans find out about that they might not be happy but it is one way of Barcelona saying they are getting rid of a big wage and getting a first option on this guy, and let go someone who was not happy either.” — AFP.
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