Moutinho: Not expected to join Spurs in January

Spurs were unable to force through a £20million-plus deal for the Porto midfielder before last month's deadline.

And with Scott Parker making good progress after surgery an a damaged Achilles, Villas-Boas does not anticipate a reunion with Moutinho any time soon.

He said: "We were prepared for missing out on that player. We set our sights on that player in the end of the transfer window - we couldn't conclude the deal but we were ready if that failed.

"It's not likely that we go back in January. Generally the market is very difficult and very expensive, and it's highly unlikely that we will continue to pursue that.

"By then we will have Parker coming back, and he's a player that we want to come back as soon as possible.

"He's a player who had maximum importance for this club last season and we feel that he can add so much to the squad."