Villas-Boas in Chelsea taunt and parting shot at Bale
AGGRIEVED Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas took a swipe at forward Gareth Bale yesterday after the star failed to report for training for the second consecutive morning.
Spurs concluded a deal to sign Bale’s replacement Erik Lamela yesterday, with Roma confirming a fee of €30m plus a further €5m in add-ons had been agreed, paving the way for the Welshman to finally complete a world record move to Real Madrid.
However, his departure from White Hart Lane is moving towards a bitter conclusion and Villas-Boas is unhappy with Bale’s act of unprofessionalism.
“He is involved in a big transfer move to Real Madrid and in the end, if it happens, we wish him a the best, but the fact that he hasn’t turned up is not the correct behaviour,” said the 35-year-old. “It’s up to the club to decide if it’s a fineable offence.”
Lamela’s move takes Spurs’ summer outlay to £85m, however Villas-Boas is keen to keep spending, with defender Vlad Chiriches and Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen in talks to sign.
Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata has been linked with a move across London, having seemingly fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge, but Villas-Boas believes Chelsea are too scared of Spurs’s title-winning potential to sanction the move.
“They’re just not going to strengthen another team that, in their opinion, are rivals for the title,” he said.
“Mata is a great player, player of the season last season, and very important for Chelsea. They wouldn’t sell to Tottenham in any way or form, as they think that we are title contenders.
“We will continue re-strengthening the squad so we are looking at different positions to make us stronger.
“In the next couple of days we will have further news and I think we will see further additions at Tottenham.”
Former Spurs transfer target Willian completed his £30m move from Anzhi Makhachkala to Chelsea yesterday, after being granted a work permit.
The Brazil forward has signed a five-year deal and said his first choice of club was always Chelsea, despite previously passing a medical at Spurs.
“When the offer came I never gave a thought to anybody else,” he said. “It’s been my dream to play here.”