AVB Target Romanian Defender to Strengthen Spurs' Back Four - Report

Tottenham are preparing a move to sign Steaua Bucharest defender Vlad Chiriches during the transfer window, according to talkSPORT. The 23-year-old centre-back has been one of the key figures in the Romanian champion's back four and Andre Villas-Boas has set his eyes on bringing him to White Hart Lane.

The north London side have already released William Gallas from the club after the former Arsenal player's contract expired at the club. The Portuguese manager is keen on finding a replacement for French defender and is believed to be eyeing for a central defender in the transfer market.

AVB has club skipper Michael Dawson, Steven Caulker and Younes Kaboul as the first choice central defender in the squad. However, the latter failed to feature regularly as injuries kept him out of action for the most part of the last campaign.

The report claims Spurs have already made an approach in signing Chiriches as the English club are in talks with the Romanian international's agent. However, Spurs are likely to face competition from England and abroad for the defender's signature.

Chiriches' representative Victor Becali confirmed Chelsea, Real Madrid and Zenit St Petersburg are also interested in signing the Romanian centre-back.

"They are interested in him but other top European clubs are also following him, including those in Italy. It's not been said that he will definitely leave Steaua, partly because they continue to ask for €15million," Becali told Tutto Mercato Web.

"I believe we can handle the figures of the deal but first they need to find an agreement with Steaua. Then we will be ready to talk with other clubs," Chiriches' agent added.

Meanwhile, Spurs stopper Hugo Lloris is delighted after his side managed to finish third in the Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong last week. AVB's men registered a comfortable 6-0 victory over South China, which included a hat-trick from Jermain Defoe.

"We played a really good game. We made it easy because everyone respected the game and the opposition. The players took great pleasure in this performance after the defeat against Sunderland. We wanted to win and we played to win. It's a good satisfaction to finish the tournament with this victory," Lloris told the club's official website.