Tottenham to miss out on Porto and Rennes stars

Andre Villas-Boas has said that Tottenham are unlikely to sign Porto’s Joao Moutinho and Rennes’ Yann M’Vila.

The Spurs boss revealed that the Portuguese midfielder would have been his preferred replacement for Luka Modric, whose transfer to Read Madrid is moving closer.

“It will be very difficult to sign him,” said the former Porto boss.

“I have experience of Porto and it is a club that sells good products but they are expensive,

“It has been like that with numerous amounts of players and that is why it is very difficult.”

The manager admitted Tottenham have scrapped their chase for other target M’Vila.

“He is an interesting player, but I don’t think he will join Tottenham,” Villas-Boas said.

“The player is a player of defensive characteristics.

“We had initial interest in M’Vila but we have moved on from that one and are now looking for a more creative player.”

Villas-Boas is not concerned that he will run out of time to find a suitable replacement for Modric, though.

“The targets are identified, it’s just a question of how quickly we can close the deals,” he added.

“It will be dramatic for the club if we cannot find the right replacement but we are looking to strengthen the squad immediately if eventually the transfer goes through.”

Villas-Boas, whose team face Newcastle on Saturday evening, also denied making bids for Bologna’s Gaston Ramirez and Roberto Soldado of Valencia.