By PAUL JIGGINS
ANDRE VILLAS-BOAS insists Jermain Defoe is not for sale — and is as good as Falcao.
The Tottenham boss insists his 10-goal leading scorer will not be sold in January.
And he says Defoe ranks alongside £50million-rated Falcao as the best striker he has worked with.
AVB, whose Spurs team host Liverpool tonight, said: “Jermain’s hunger for goal is extreme. This is what pleases you as a manager.
“It makes things easier for you to work with because you don’t have to teach a lot.
“He knows more than you how to score goals. He’s been doing it for all of his life. Is he the best striker I have worked with? He is up there. I certainly put him alongside Falcao.”
Atletico Madrid’s Colombian star, a target for Chelsea, played under AVB at Porto alongside Brazilian frontman Hulk. Villas-Boas also managed Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres at Chelsea last season.
But he rates Defoe and Falcao the highest.
AVB said: “I have been very fortunate to work with the best but I certainly remember Jermain and Falcao.
“At Chelsea things were a bit different, irregular in terms of our goalscoring ability.
“We reached January with Didier and Fernando on three goals each which makes things a little more difficult.”
Villas-Boas reckons Defoe, who scored twice in Tottenham’s 3-1 win over West Ham on Sunday, is certainly the most instinctive marksman he has worked with.
