Last Updated: Sat, 02 Feb 2013 15:10
Andre Villas-Boas says Gylfi Sigurdsson still has a role to play for Tottenham, after rejecting the chance to sell him on deadline day.
The Icelandic midfielder, who has struggled to hold down a regular first-team place at White Hart Lane, was the subject of three approaches from Reading on Thursday.
Reading boss Brian McDermott claimed he was ready to make Sigurdsson, who started his career with the Royals, his club's record signing but the Tottenham boss did not want to let the former Swansea man leave.
The 23-year-old appears to have slipped further down the pecking order following the January arrival of Lewis Holtby, but Villas-Boas feels he still has an important part to play.
AVB said: "Obviously he's a player that means a lot to Reading. But he's a player that we rate very highly. We brought him here after his amazing contribution [on loan] for Swansea last year and he's a player that we have high expectations for.
"Probably this season at the moment he is not going to the level that he wants, but he's a player that we believe a lot in, and in his future here. We couldn't allow him to leave."
Have you an opinion on this story? Put your money where your mouth is and claim a free £25 bet.
