Door slammed shut on Spurs hunt for Porto youngster

When does a youngster stop being a 'youngster' is a question that has not plagued mankind for centuries.

It probably has all to do with the age of the person that is writing the article so if the subject is younger than the writer, he is a youngster. In which case, in the right circumstances, Brad Friedel could be a promising youngster.

Anyway, after that uninteresting tangent, we come to the point; according to Sky Sports Tottenham have missed out on securing a deal to sign 'highly-rated youngster' Christian Atsu as the 20-year-old is set to pen a new deal at Porto.

Sky Sports believe that contract talks between the winger and the club are at an advanced stage with Porto keen to tie the player down on the long term to ward off potential suitors such as Spurs.

Atsu has 18 months left on his current deal but Porto want to implement a new release clause which would bump up the buy-out from £8m to £24m and forcing out Spurs with such a price tag.

Spurs were linked with the player as Andre Villas-Boas had offered Atsu a senior debut in the manager's time at the Portuguese club with the youngster seen as a long-term replacement for the 'linked with everyone' James Rodriguez.