Andre Villas-Boas is ready to sanction the sale of Rafael van der Vaart to give him the spending power he needs to reshape the Tottenham squad.
Van der Vaart has two years left on his contract at White Hart Lane and although new head coach Villas-Boas admires the Dutchman’s quality, Standard Sport understands he is prepared to sacrifice him to bring in the funds he requires to conclude a busy summer transfer campaign.
Van der Vaart has interest from Germany, with both Schalke and his former club Hamburg having expressed a desire to sign him. During the first two years of his spell at Spurs, Van der Vaart was the club’s top earner, collecting a basic wage of about £70,000 a week.
Tottenham signed Van der Vaart for £8million from Real Madrid during the summer of 2010 and are looking for about £11m for the 29-year-old midfielder. Van der Vaart’s sale, as well as the possible departure of Luka Modric to Real Madrid, would give Villas-Boas considerable financial freedom. Defender William Gallas, another high earner, will also be allowed to leave the club.
Van der Vaart has been a valuable player for Spurs, scoring 29 goals in two seasons in a role playing just off a lone forward. Villas-Boas is likely, however, to ditch the 4-4-1-1 formation preferred by former manager Harry Redknapp in favour of the bold 4-3-3 system he used at FC Porto and Chelsea.
It is thought Villas-Boas would like to sign two new forwards, one of whom will almost certainly be Emmanuel Adebayor, who is close to agreeing a permanent move from Manchester City following a successful loan spell last season.
Adebayor would need to take a significant cut to his basic wage of £175,000 a week but Spurs are prepared to sweeten the pill by handing him a substantial signing-on fee.
Villas-Boas was also keen on Poland forward Robert Lewandowski, who plays for Borussia Dortmund, but the club’s sights are believed to have turned again to long-time target Leandro Damiao after Lewandowski was judged to be too expensive. Damiao, 22, plays for Internacional and has won nine caps for Brazil.
Brad Friedel’s days as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper also appear to be numbered, with Tottenham stepping up their pursuit of France’s No1 Hugo Lloris. Spurs’ offer for the 25-year-old is about £11.9m, with Lyon seeking £15.9m, but it is thought that Lloris would welcome a move to England.
Read More
If Modric leaves, Villas-Boas will seek another central midfielder, having already signed Gylfi Sigurdsson from Hoffenheim. Porto playmaker Joao Moutinho is at the top of his list but Spurs face competition from Manchester United for the Portugal star.
