New Signings Won't Make Tottenham Title Challengers, Claims Villas-Boas

Andre Villas-Boas doesn't believe Tottenham Hotspur can compete for the Premier League crown this season despite the club's ambitious assault on the transfer market this summer.

Although Gareth Bale's protracted move to Real Madrid has cast a shadow throughout the transfer window, the club have considerably strengthened their squad with the signings of Paulinho, Nacer Chadli, Roberto Soldado and Etienne Capoue.

With their summer spending already at £60m, the club are poised to make another swathe of signings before the closure of the transfer window in just less than two weeks' time.

Anzhi midfielder Willian is reportedly undergoing a medical ahead of a £30m move to White Hart Lane, while the club's technical director Franco Baldini is attempting to strike a deal with Roma for Erik Lamela.

Real Madrid's winger-cum-full back Fabio Coentrao is also in the offering, reports suggest. The Portuguese may find himself in used in a makeweight as part of the Bale deal or may be brought to north London in a stand-alone transfer.

With or without Bale, Tottenham's impressive summer business has led some to suggest the club's ambitions to merely achieve a top four finish have been raised, with some murmurings suggesting the club could boast a squad capable of challenging for the league title.

However Villas-Boas has remained calm amid a pivotal summer for the club, insisting there is still much work to be done.

"I don't agree that we can be title contenders for this season coming because everything is happening, everything is changing," the Spurs boss said, Sky Sports report.

"We have to create a team at the moment for all these new players that we have bought. We haven't had lots of time to work with them, but we believe that in the future we can definitely achieve it."

With reports suggesting that Real Madrid are on the brink of confirming a deal to bring Bale to the Spanish capital, Villas-Boas has been persistently questioned on the future of the Wales international.

While maintaining the stance that no deal has been struck, the Portuguese coach acknowledges that anything can happen before the transfer window closes on September 2.

"Ideally we want to keep everyone, But in the end, anything can happen," Villas-Boas told a press conference yesterday.

"As we enter the final weeks of the market, it can be very frantic. The objective for us is to be stronger and we can achieve it.

"I can't say anything about Bale and Real Madrid being confirmed, - it's not true."