Tottenham Hotspur look set to abandon their pursuit of Lyon’s Hugo Lloris after holding talks with the agent of Internazionale goalkeeper Julio Cesar.
New Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas is keen to bring in a new shot-stopper despite the club already boasting Brad Friedel, Heurelho Gomes and Carlo Cudicini on their books.
A move for French custodian Lloris has been mooted for some time and reportedly had a bid for the 25-year-old rejected by the Ligue 1 side who claim they have received no offers.
It was thought the chairman Daniel Levy had submitted a £12 million offer for Lloris and beat North London rivals Arsenal to the punch by capturing his signature.
But Aulas revealed the shot stopper won’t be leaving the Stade Gerland any time soon saying that the club would not welcome any approaches for his services.
“Tottenham made contact through [Lloris’] agent but there has been no concrete offer since,” he said. “I don’t think they really want him, but we really want to keep him. “He will stay at Lyon unless he absolutely wants to go. The best present we can give to the fans is finding a way to keep him. We will try to do just that.”
As a result Villas-Boas looks to have turned his attentions to 32-year-old Cesar, who is ready to leave Giuseppe Meazza after seven years at the club following Inter’s €11 million signing of Samir Handanovic from Udinese.
Cesar’s representative Josias Cardoso claims he has spoken to Spurs regarding the Brazil international, but admitted they had stopped short of making an official bid as they continue to weigh up their options.
“Now he [Julio Cesar] remains at Inter, he doesn’t want to go to Brazil and the market has just closed there,” Cardoso told Tuttosport. “Some clubs indeed contacted us, but we asked them to contact Inter, the club that own his rights. There is nothing certain yet.
“There are talks with Tottenham, but the English club has not yet made official steps.”
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