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Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas, has re-iterated his interest in the 23-year old Brazil and Internacional striker, Leandro Damiao. Apart from him, AVB has also expressed his desire to acquire the services of highly-rated Shakhtar midfielder Willian to White Hart Lane, in a bid to ensure a top 4 finish and Champions League football next season.
The Brazilian duo were primary transfer targets for Villas-Boas even during the summer of 2012. Willian has since been absolutely instrumental in Shakhtar’s amazing season so far, including more than impressive performances in Europe, as a result of which they out-qualified reigning champions, Chelsea, for the knockout round of the Champions League.
This is what the former Chelsea Boss said to Lancenet while reasserting his interest in the Ukrainian club’s playmaker:
“We contacted Willian and he is one of the players in which we had an interest. I like his style but we could not reach a deal with Shakhtar in the summer. Shakhtar are a tough club to negotiate with; they don’t need the money, they can keep their players.”
Villas-Boas was also full of praise for Damiao, who received a lot of interest from European clubs after being a key performer for Brazil in their silver medal winning campaign at the 2012 London Olympics, finishing top scorer with 6 goals in 5 appearances. On the club front, the Internacional front man finished 2012 with a tally of 24 goals in all competitions.
Speaking about his hopes of bringing the Brazilian to the North London club, AVB added: “There are many good players here, we are happy, but we obviously follow the best players and youngsters and Leandro Damiao fits in the profile. Leandro was spectacular at the Olympics but there are other interesting players. We are paying attention to his progress but he had injuries after the Olympics and may not have played that often.
“If he is within our reach, he’ll always be in our list.”
After last night’s 3-1 win over Reading, Tottenham now find themselves in 3rd spot in the Premier League and are on course for that top four finish. Tottenham’s attacking prowess will only get more potent if Andre Villas-Boas succeeds in getting the Brazilian duo to sign for the Spurs. That, combined with a second-half of the season, may even see them challenging for the title and splitting both the Manchester clubs at the top of the leader board.
