AVB closing in on second stint in the capital

Former Chelsea boss, Andre Villa Boas, is close to landing the Spurs job and could be handed the White Hart Lane vacancy as early as the weekend.

Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, is ready to give the Portuguese his second crack of the managerial whip in London, just 4 months after he was sacked by European Champions, Chelsea.

The 34 year old is hot favourite to replace Harry Redknapp and the departures of coaches, Kevin Bond and Joe Jordan, on Thursday could pave the way for the ex Porto boss to bring in his own men.

The decision of Gareth Bale to sign a new contract will be welcome, but AVB, as he is often known, could find it difficult to tempt Luka Modric to stay.