United & Tottenham Trumped As Monaco Launch €70m Move For Porto Duo - Report

Ambitious Monaco are on the cusp of securing a €70 million move for Porto's coveted pair Joao Moutinho and James Rodriguez, reports suggest.

Billionaire-backed Monaco, who have sealed their return to the top flight of French football, are eager to challenge the equally affluent Paris Saint Germain next season, and have already been linked with a number of established European names to help them achieve that.

Having been already been heavily linked with moves for Atletico Madrid forward Radamel Falcao and Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez, Sky Italia report that the club are on the verge of paying the astronomical fee for Moutinho, who almost joined Tottenham Hotspur last summer, and the highly rated Rodriguez, who has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United since this time last year.

The extent of Monaco's ambition was brought to light last week when it emerged the club were ready to meet Falcao's €60m buyout clause, but news of their double swoop on the newly crowned Portuguese champions will send further shockwaves across Europe.

Premier League champions United have remained linked with the 21-year-old Rodriguez throughout the season, and despite Sir Alex Ferguson's omission that Porto would demand too much money for the attacking midfielder, the managerial upheaval at the club could pave the way for a busy summer at Old Trafford.

The uncertainty surrounding the futures of Luis Nani and Anderson also increased speculation that United may use one of the pair as part of a swap deal to lure Porto, where the Brazilian midfielder used to ply his trade, into doing a deal.

Reports have suggested that Tottenham plan on reviving their interest in 26-year-old Moutinho after the club once again missed out on a Champions League place, but Monaco's ambitious moves may scupper plans for both Premier League clubs.

Once ever present in Europe's top competition, Monaco's relegation to Ligue 2 in 2011 encapsulated a spectacular fall from grace for the 2004 Champions League finalists. But Russian billionaire Dimitri Rybolovlev's take over in December of 2011 marked a new initiative at the club, who marked their new found ambition with the appointment of Claudio Ranieri last year.

Now back in the top flight of French football, the club would seemingly have every intention of bettering the extravagant spending habits of PSG in order to reclaim a spot at the summit of Ligue 1.