Portuguese says speculation is ‘surreal’ but does not deny David Villa interest.
Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas has refused to rule out a summer move for Barcelona striker David Villa but hinted that the club will leave it late to do their transfer business once again.
Spurs have been linked with a surprise move for 31-year-old Villa, with several sources claiming a deal to take Spain’s record goalscorer to White Hart Lane is nearly complete.
Villa has netted 10 goals in just 19 starts for the Catalans this season but has struggled for regular first-team football under head-coach Tito Vilanova.
The former Valencia striker, who cost Barcelona £33m in 2010, is widely expected to leave the Nou Camp this summer but Villas-Boas refused to admit if the striker was on Spurs’ radar.
“He’s one of the world’s best strikers,” the Portuguese told the Tottenham Journal.
“What comes out with the speculation at this time at Tottenham is very surreal. You know this club is very active in the last weeks of the transfer window, so you can see that speculation is growing here and there, but at the moment we are focused on trying to get the fourth spot.”
Villas-Boas did, however, deny that Spurs are tracking 19-year-old RNK Split striker Ante Rebic.
The Croatian’s agent has described Spurs as the “ideal” move for his client but Villas-Boas insisted he’d never heard of the youngster.
“I have no idea who this player is, I’m sorry,” said the head coach. “I don’t know where this news has come from – not out of disrespect to the player but he’s not someone I’m looking at.”
Tottenham are widely expected to enter the transfer market for a new striker this summer, after a disappointing season for both Emmanuel Adebayor and Jermain Defoe.
Adebayor has managed just five league goals all term, while Defoe has scored just once since Boxing Day.
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