Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas believes Croatia midfielder Luka Modric should finally complete his move to Real Madrid in the next few days.

Modric has been keen to leave White Hart Lane since the end of last season, but Real’s attempts to sign the star have been frustrated by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy’s demands for a fee of around £40 million.

Villas-Boas is keen for the deal to be completed so he can reinvest the money in new signings, while also eliminating the distraction of the long-running transfer saga, and he could get his wish by next week.

Asked yesterday if there was any progress in negotiations between the clubs, Villas-Boas said: “The chairman has told me the talks are ongoing.

“They are making some progress and the situation can be solved within the next couple days.”

While Villas-Boas is likely to lose a key midfielder in Modric, he has been focused on bolstering his attacking options and completed the signing of Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City this week.

Villas-Boas had also been linked with a bid for Internacional’s Brazil striker Leandro Damiao, but the former Chelsea coach played down talk of a potential deal.

“I don’t think so. With Adebayor, (Jermain) Defoe and (Harry) Kane coming through, I think I have enough options,” he said.

“Damiao is obviously a fantastic player but he is not our prospect at the moment because we are closed with what we are trying to do on the striker situation.”