Thursday 22 August 2013 12:49, UK
Andre Villas-Boas has denied that a deal has been agreed for the record sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid.
Spurs expect to complete the signing of Willian by the time they return from Georgia while there is excitement among supporters about the prospect of Argentinian midfielder Lamela and Real Madrid left-back Fabio Coentrao also joining the club. Out of respect to the clubs they belong to, Villas-Boas would not go into detail about Tottenham's pursuit of the trio, but he did concede talks had begun with Anzhi over the signing of Willian. "I can confirm there is an interest in the player and conversations (have taken place)," the Portuguese said. "What we are building is a very, very strong side for the future, alongside massive investment in the structures of the club." The Tottenham manager has vowed to do all he can to win the Europa League this season, even though his squad was stretched thin last season by fighting on two fronts. "Last season we prioritised both competitions," the Tottenham boss said. "It's the same objective this year. "We have approached this competition very seriously. We set out a good example that it was possible to play Thursday evenings and Sundays with the same team mostly and we had good success with results in fixtures after the Europa League in the Premier League, so the focus will be exactly the same." Tbilisi, 14-time domestic champions, are huge underdogs for this evening's first leg. Their squad is made up mostly of local players with the odd foreign import but club officials expect the Dinamo Arena to be close to its 54,000 capacity if the rain holds off, and Villas-Boas is wary of underestimating the opposition. He added: "This play-off is an extremely difficult play-off. It can knock you out even before a taste of it has happened so we will pick a strong team."
