EPL Transfer News: Corinthians Deny Paulinho Bid; Villas-Boas Still Interested in Damiao and Willian

Jan 01, 2013 10:35 PM EST
Paulinho Corinthians
Corinthians midfielder and Chelsea target Paulinho is now being targeted by Inter Milan"

 

Corinthians denied receiving a bid for highly-rated midfielder Paulinho, while Andre Villas-Boas opened the possibility of a move for both Willian and Leandro Damiao.

Paulinho is one of the most highly-regarded midfielders in Brazil at the moment and the 24-year-old, who is rated at £20 million ($32 million), has been a subject of interest from Manchester City, Paris Saint Germain and Chelsea.

There were reports suggesting a bid had already been made for the Brazilian, but Corinthians director of football Rpberto De Andrade rubbished those rumors outright.

"Talk about him (Paulinho) is just speculation," he said.

"No offer has come in for any of our players and we don't want to sell anybody."

Corinthians president Mario Gobbi had also earlier told Estadao that none of their players would be leaving in the transfer window.

Meanwhile, Villas-Boas expressed his admiration for Brazilian duo Willian and Damiao.

Spurs failed with a bid for Willian in the summer, with Shakhtar Donetsk refusing to budge from their transfer demands.

Villas-Boas admitted he looked to bring in the playmaker at the beginning of the season. "We contacted Willian and he is one of the players in which we had an interest," he told Lancenet.

"I like his style but we could not reach a deal with Shakhtar in the summer.

"Shakhtar are a tough club to negotiate with, they don't need the money, they can keep their players."

Spurs have long been linked with a move for Internacional striker Damiao, with the English Premier League club trying, but failing, to bring in the forward in the past couple of transfer windows.

"There are many good players here, we are happy, but we obviously follow the best players and youngsters and Leandro Damiao fits in the profile," Villas-Boas added.

"Leandro was spectacular at the Olympics but there are other interesting players.

"We are paying attention to his progress but he had injuries after the Olympics and may not have played that often.

"If he is within our reach, he'll always be in our list."

Internacional president Giovanni Luigi said the club had not received any offer for Damiao as yet.

"The January window is a weak window in Europe," he told Radio Gaucha.

"At the moment there is nothing regarding Leandro Damiao -- no negotiations, no informal enquiries."

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