Villas-Boas reveals Tottenham was offered Klose

Andre Villas-Boas has revealed that Tottenham was offered the chance to sign Lazio striker Miroslav Klose, but turned down the opportunity.

Klose joined the Roman outfit last season and hit 16 goals in 35 appearances for the Biancocelesti, who Spurs face in the Europa League on Thursday.

Whilst Villas-Boas appreciates the Germany international's talents, he did not enter negotiations with the player as he is satisfied with his current striking options.

"We were offered [Miroslav] Klose by a FIFA agent, but there was never any real negotiations," the Portuguese told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. "Klose is a good player, but I have three very good strikers in [Jermain] Defoe, [Emmanuel] Adebayor and [Clint] Dempsey."

Tottenham made an early exit from the Europa League last season, and Villas-Boas has insisted he wants to make a strong impression in the competition that he won two seasons ago with Porto.

However he is wary of the talent of the Italian side, which has made a perfect start to the Serie A season, joining Juventus and Napoli at the summit after winning its first three games.

"It will be a difficult match," he said. "The Italian championship is one of the toughest in the world, and whoever is at the top [of the division] needs to be addressed with the utmost concentration.

"Only those who watch football with superficiality could underestimate Lazio. There are important players. [Cristian] Ledesma, for example, is one of my favorite players. Then there is Hernanes. I expected to find him in a top-end club, but instead Lazio kept him."

Tottenham and Lazio are joined in Europa League Group J by Panathinaikos and Slovenian minnows NK Maribor.

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