Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp says that even £35m would not be enough to tempt him to part with Luka Modric, which funnily enough is about the amount Chelsea are reportedly set to offer as a final bid for the Croatian.
The Blues have had bids of £22m and £27m knocked back so far, but Spurs are standing firm over the player despite the fact he has publicly said he wants to join Chelsea and has allegedly handed in a transfer request in an attempt to leave White Hart Lane.
Chelsea may come back with an improved bid for the player, with £35m mooted as a potential offer, but that’s not enough for ‘Arry, who appears eager to hold out for more.
When asked if £35m would be a suitable offer for Modric, Redknapp said:
“If we were looking to sell him it wouldn’t meet my valuation. I think he is worth an awful lot more money than that.
“Really, we’re not looking to sell Luka. We need to keep our best players so he is a player that we want to keep if possible. It is in the hands of the chairman of the football club [Daniel Levy]. It’s not my decision at the end of the day.
“I obviously want to keep him as the coach but the chairman says he is not for sale so we’ll have to wait and see. We’re quite determined, if we can, to hang on to him but it is a difficult situation. It’s a difficult one for Luka and it’s a difficult one for Tottenham.”
I’m not entirely sure what sort of world Redknapp is living in, but it would be good money for a player that doesn’t want to be there and I don’t think he’s worth more than the aforementioned amount. And I don’t think Chelsea will go higher than that, so Spurs are just pricing the midfielder out of the market and the move that he wants, which angers many of our fans but I think Modric was stupid to sign the long-term contract he’s tied to in the first place.
The Tottenham manager also recently claimed that everyone wants Modric:
“Everyone wants Luka. Just ask Alex Ferguson what he thinks of him, ask Roberto Mancini at Manchester City – they all want him. He could play for Barcelona.”
Do they? United may have an interest in him, but I couldn’t see him usurping Xavi or Iniesta at Barcelona and I haven’t noticed a bidding war erupt since we made an offer for the player. As it stands, we appear to be the only club in for him at the moment and represent the best opportunity for Spurs to cash in for the player.
As a Chelsea fan I’d happily leave them with a player that doesn’t want to be there and I think he’ll leave there in January or next summer if he doesn’t leave now, and I think it’s doubtful they’d get more than £35m for him then either. The sort of money we’re talking about here is Wesley Sneijder money, is Modric worth more than him? Nope.
Assuming we do make an improved offer and it is rejected, is it time to give up on Luka Modric and turn our attentions elsewhere?
It is all so simple if you strip away all the rhetoric and nonsense about which is the bigger club. Chelsea want a Spurs player but have not offered Spurs a price that Spurs will accept. It is no good Chelsea supporters protesting it is a
fair price, as that has nothing to do with it. It is a simple trading matter and if Chelsea cannot make their offer atractive to Spurs then no sale.