Alvaro Pereira
Alvaro Pereira (L) is believed to be very close to confirming a move to Tottenham.

Tottenham Hotspur are closing in on Uruguayan defender Alvaro Pereira, according to reports across Europe, with the Inter Milan star believed to be close to confirming a move to White Hart Lane in January.

Andre Villas-Boas has long been an admirer of Pereira with the pair having worked together already at Porto.

The South American left Porto for Inter Milan in 2012, at the same time as Villas-Boas was making his way to Tottenham after his short stint at Chelsea. In Italy, though, Pereira has so far failed to impress, making just two starts this season as Inter look to push back into the mix for the Scudetto.

Portuguese newspaper A Bola is reporting that the deal for him to head to White Hart Lane is very close to completion as Villas-Boas gets ready for a very busy winter window in which he wants to bolster the squad to put them in serious contention for a top four finish.

With more competition this season than last as Liverpool join the race for Champions League qualification, Tottenham will be keen to add more talent in January in order to guarantee they don't lose their winning touch, as they have in recent years.

Pereira would give the manager some defensive reinforcement, with Jan Vertonghen currently having to play out of position, and becoming frustrated by it, as Danny Rose recovers from injury.