Spurs could take advantage of the political unrest in Ukraine to sign Shakhtar Donetsk forward Douglas Costa, according to the Independent.

The 23-year-old Brazilian is one of six South American players who refused to travel with his team-mates to Ukraine for Tuesday's season opener.

Signed from Brazilian club Gremio in 2009, the attacking midfielder has been a mainstay of Shakhtar's side for the past five years, making 170 appearances for the Ukrainian giants, scoring 43 goals.

It is understood North London rivals Arsenal are also keen to sign the former Brazilian Under-20 international, who has won the Ukrainian Premier League five times with Shakhtar. 

Posting on his Instagram page, Costa said: "I would to clarify that I'm not abandoning the club. I'm afraid. Everything that we read, see and hear is that the situation in the country is very concerning. We don't know in what conditions we're going to train much less where we're going to play.

"To play our games we need to travel by plane, how is going to be guarantee our protection? I don't have any problem with FC Shakhtar. I like the club, the people who works in the club, the people of the city and the city itself but I'm afraid that this conflict situation can achieve ourselves in an irreversible manner.

"I'm so sorry with this whole situation, however, in this moment we are all concerned with our lives. We want to to continue play for FC Shakhtar but we need a safety work condition."