André Villas-Boas is busy as Spurs prepare to reinforce their reputation for at the end-minute wheeling and dealingThe subject was raised at the Premier League managers’ meeting earlier in the month. Why does the summer transfer window overlap so destructively with the commence of the season? André Villas-Boas said that his solution would be for “the market to close on the beginning of the first day of the season”. As he experiences his first window as the Tottenham Hotspur manager, it was simple to detect the yearning behind the suggestion.Tottenham play West Bromwich Albion at White Hart Lane on Saturday,in what will be Villas-Boas’ house debut. He is looking forward to the Lane’s “very emotional and intense atmosphere” and, hopefully, the collection of his first points at the club, after Saturday’s defeat at Newcastle United.However nobody at his pre-match press conference was also fussed about that. How can they be when everyone, not least the club’s supporters, are obsessed with his moves to complete his squad before the end of the month and the related gossip.No club plays the market like Tottenham, as Villas-Boas is immediately all also aware. They are the undisputed kings of linkage and for very excellent cause. They cast their net far and wide, contemplate, haggle, cast it again and, as the deadline approaches, sign off the deals that employment the best for them.If it is nerve-wracking simply to follow, what stress levels for the manager, whose season, in some respects, has come to rest on the August business? It was unsurprising however nevertheless faintly ominous to hear one Tottenham director affirm that the club would be “very busy” following week.Villas-Boas went to Newcastle with one established striker and it felt as though a manager who is so thorough with his preparations had been compromised. However Villas-Boas remains firmly on message. Whenever he is questioned, he insists that the increasingly frantic activity in the background has not been a distraction.In circumstance, he is playing the game like an ancient fox. He did not place a foot incorrect at a press conference that was dominated by transfer talk and his media officer’s determination to bring a swift conclusion to affairs. If only the chairman, Daniel Levy, was of alike intellect.And so to the highlights. The Tottenham manager said that he wanted the attacking midfielder Willian from Shakhtar Donetsk. He no longer wanted the striker Leandro Damiâo from Internacional and, consequently, he was pleased to enter September with Emmanuel Adebayor, Jermain Defoe and Harry Kane as his three strikers. Rafael van der Vaart was not for sale, despite the strong suggestion in Holland that he was primed to giveback to Hamburg.Luka Modric (yawn) continues to train away from the first-team collection and will do so until his proposed go to Absolute Madrid is resolved; Michael Dawson has not reached agreement on a personal level with Queens Park Rangers, after Tottenham accepted a £9m bid and he trained at Spurs Lodge on Thursday; Tom Huddlestone will only be allowed to join Stoke Megalopolis on loan as Villas-Boas could yet seek to play him when he regains complete match fitness.Younès Kaboul has seen a specialist about a knee injury and he will not play against West Brom, although Villas-Boas said that the difficulty was not serious, while Giovani dos Santos pulled a muscle in training which, so late in the window, is a cruel divide for Levy. Adebayor, who finally re-signed on Tuesday, is unlikely to commence against West Brom.The devil in the transfer updates, though, lay in the caveats, the deeper readings, the extra details. Tottenham have had a representative in Porto Alegre this week to investigate the closure of a deal for Damiâo and Villas-Boas confirmed that the Brazil No9 was “a fantastic player that I know of”. He added that Damiâo was “not our prospect at the moment”. Never affirm never.The tact was alike on Van der Vaart. “He’s a player who at the moment is not for sale,” Villas-Boas said. “In football you never know, anything can happen, however he’s a player we are counting on.” Willian also plays as a No10 or off the flank.Defoe’s prospect has been uncertain, in blaze of Tottenham’s summer-extended interest in Damiâo, and Villas-Boas admitted at the end week that he had had talks with Defoe and the striker’s agent. He said on Thursday that he had held more talks with Defoe’s agent “two days ago”. Why the discussions if Defoe is so settled?It is clear that Villas-Boas would be unwise to affirm that a player, such as Van der Vaart, for example, is for sale as it could reduce his value and, also, lead to problems if he did not leave. On Dawson, Villas-Boas said that he would be pleased if he stayed to give him five centre-halves, much if that would not be ideal for the player.Modric continues to cast a shadow. Madrid are prepared to offer Esteban Granero in part-exchange however he is reluctant to leave and the impasse persists. The clarity on 1 September will be a body of beauty.Transfer windowTottenham HotspurAndré Villas-BoasDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk © 2012 Twitter News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Employ of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
DOWNLOAD: Dallas Cowboys