Tottenham target Leandro Damiao to remain in Brazil

Spurs' hopes of signing the striker in £18m deal thwarted until the summer at least

Leandro Damiao (GETTY IMAGES)

Tottenham's hopes of signing striker Leandro Damiao in what would have been one of the biggest deals of transfer deadline day appear to have been thwarted.

It was understood that Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas made just one transfer request to chairman Daniel Levy this month - to bring the Brazilian international to White Hart Lane before the window closes.

AVB is prepared to soldier on without another senior striker, despite the injury concerns surrounding Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor’s absence on international duty, but the Portuguese manager still wanted his chairman to make another attempt to sign the Brazil centre-forward in a deal that would have set the north Londoner's back around £18m.

Tottenham chairman Levy has pursued Leandro, who plays for Internacional, since the summer of 2011 but the complicated nature of the deal means Spurs have so far been unable to complete it.

Until now, Levy’s preference has been to revisit the deal in the summer. Yet the shortage of options in attack at White Hart Lane and Villas-Boas’ admiration for Leandro meant the Tottenham chairman reconsidered his position.

The complex nature of the Leandro negotiations meant the chances of his arrival this month were always slim, and according to Brazilian newspaper Globo Esporte, the player will remain at Internacional for at least six more months. However, a deal in June has not been ruled out.