Next 48 Hours Crucial As Tottenham and Liverpool Pursue Brazilian Target

Anzhi Makhachkala winger Willian will decide over the next 48 hours where his future lies, with both Liverpool and Tottenham placing £28m bids for the Brazilian

Spurs are said to be on the lookout for back-up should Gareth Bale leave the club this summer for Real Madrid, and the north London side see the Brazil international as the perfect signing to complement international teammate Paulinho who also signed for the club in the current window.

Meanwhile, Liverpool believe that they can offer Anzhi a deal which would be difficult to refuse, with Sky Sport Italia reporting that the side will give the Russian club 50% of any future sell-on fee if it exceeds £30m.

The Liverpool Echo believe that the 25 year old is interested in a move to both Tottenham and the Merseyside club and will decide in the next 48 hours where his preference lies before the deal can be concluded.

Spurs can offer the carrot of European football to Willian, with Liverpool having failed to qualfy for either the Champions League or the Europa League this season. With the World Cup drawing nearer - and in the star's home country - more game time will be of the upmost importance as he attempts to force his way into the reckoning.

Tottenham have a recent history of hijacking Liverpool's transfer targets, with the club having swooped at the last minute on the 2012 summer deadline day for Clint Dempsey as Brendan Rodgers was actively pursuing the American.

While the Reds had once been a huge draw for any player hoping to join a top European club, going into a fourth season without Champions League football - a tournament they won only eight years ago - is causing problems for Rodgers in his pursuit of particular targets.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan chose a move to Borussia Dortmund over Liverpool, and Rodgers has had to deal with the ongoing saga of Luis Suarez insisting he wanted to leave because of the lack of European football on offer.

But this has only made Liverpool more desperate to acquire a top four finish this season, in which they will need to land Willian over Tottenham to prevent Andre Villas-Boas' side taking the upper hand.