The pair, who both featured for Brazil at international level, were linked with Spurs during the summer and Portuguese boss Villas-Boas has reinstated his admiration for the duo.
Speaking about Willian he told Lancenet: “We contacted Willian and he is one of the players in which we had an interest. I like his style but we could not reach a deal with Shakhtar in the summer.
“Shakhtar are a tough club to negotiate with; they don’t need the money, they can keep their players.â€
Villas-Boas also had high praise for Damiao, who was one of the key players in the Brazilian team that won a Silver medal at the 2012 Olympics.