Tottenham poised to announce AVB as new manager

Tottenham Hotspur expect to get confirmation from Andre Villas-Boas today that he has accepted their offer of the manager's job. They will then announce later this week that the 34-year-old will succeed Harry Redknapp.

Daniel Levy, the Spurs chairman, wanted a manager in place by the end of Euro 2012, when player trading begins in earnest, although he has already started identifying transfer targets.

Villas-Boas impressed the club in his interview and Levy is convinced the Portuguese has learnt from the mistakes he made at Chelsea. When his eight-month stint at Stamford Bridge ended in his dismissal, the club went on to win the Champions League and the FA Cup.

Tottenham had always sought a high-profile replacement for Redknapp and, while the likes of Laurent Blanc, who has just quit as manager of France, and Ralf Rangnick, who recently joined Salzburg, were considered, Villas-Boas was deemed the most suitable figure in a relatively limited market.

Brendan Rodgers would have been at the forefront of Spurs' thoughts but, by the time matters came to a head with Redknapp, the former Swansea manager had already signed to take over as manager of Liverpool.

There is a good chance that Spurs will sell their sought after Luka Modric this summer, although if he is permitted to leave he will go abroad, most probably to Real Madrid. Gareth Bale has signed a new four-year deal at the club, although that does not rule out him leaving next summer. However, the new deal puts Spurs in a strong position if they decide to cash in on the player after this season.