Tottenham Hotspur are set to be the next victims of Monaco's big-spending as the Ligue 1 outfit close in on signing Porto midfielder Joao Moutinho.

Monaco's fall from grace after making the 2004 Champions League has been well documented, and after the side were relegated to the second division in France in 2011, Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev took over the club and made plans to bring it back to the glory days.

The city certainly presents an attractive opportunity to any footballer, with beautiful surroundings and a lenient tax system.

Joao Moutinho
Joao Moutinho is close to joining Monaco, Porto have confirmed.

And with that in mind Monaco look set to sign Moutinho, who was a target for Tottenham last season, as well as fellow Porto star James Rodriguez, with a deal set to be confirmed in the coming days.

"I only got the news that there was interest on Sunday. We are negotiating," Porto club president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa said, according to the Daily Mail.

Moutinho has once again excelled for the Portuguese side this season and Tottenham have continually been linked with a move for the star.

The north London club came particularly close to signing the 26 year old last summer and were even granted an extension on deadline day in the hopes of getting the deal over the line.

Andre Villas-Boas has since insisted he is no longer interested in the midfielder, who helped his side win another league title, but after a disappointing season for Spurs in which the side missed out on Champions League qualification, the manager is believed to be renewing his interest.

But unlike Tottenham, who couldn't agree on the contract details for Moutinho at the end of last summer, Monaco are much more willing to meet Porto's demands for the star. They're setting their ambitions high for next season, chasing down fellow big-spenders PSG, and want to be participating in European football once more.

The club are also believed to be close to tying up a deal for Radamel Falcao, who was only behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the scoring stakes in La Liga this season.

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