Tottenham close in on £20m Shakhtar Donetsk forward Willian

Tottenham are close to capturing Willian Borges da Silva from Shakhtar Donetsk for £20million as they reignited interest in Leandro Damiao in an attempt to add Brazilian flair to their strikeforce.

For the opening game of the season Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas was severely lacking in attacking options, with Jermain Defoe his only established first-team striker. But he is close to adding Willian and Damiao to the squad after securing Emmanuel Adebayor on a permanent £5m deal on Tuesday.

Willian, 24, was upset with Ukrainian club Shakhtar when they rejected an offer from Chelsea earlier in the summer. Roman Abramovich thought Shakhtar’s demands were too high. But Spurs appear to have satisfied Shakhtar and are close to bringing him to White Hart Lane.

Willian compared himself to Luka Modric — which would make him the perfect replacement for the Croatian if his transfer to Real Madrid goes through — and spent the year having English lessons to make a transition to a Premier League club easier.

He can play in behind a striker or as a winger — his main role for Shakhtar. He scored 19 goals in 129 games and won three league titles, four Ukrainian cups and one UEFA Cup at the club.

Villas-Boas also hopes to land Brazil striker Damiao from Internacional after interest was registered earlier in the month.

The 23-year-old striker won a silver medal at the Olympics and was tournament top scorer with six goals. Tottenham signed midfielder Sandro from Internacional in 2010 and hope that deal will help smooth Damiao’s transfer.