This weekend saw this transfer windowʼs first real transfer saga develop.
Three things happened:-
Chelsea failed with a derisory bid of £22 million for Luka Modric with Harry Redknapp
commenting that players were being sold that weren't fit to lace Lukaʼs boots, a reference to young Jordan Henderson perhaps?
Luka himself tells a national newspaper that he wants to leave Spurs to pursue trophies
and Champions League football naming Chelsea as his preferred destination.
Daniel Levy issues a club statement stating that Luka Modric is not for sale at any price to Chelsea or any other club, this information was given to Chelsea directly who chose to ignore it and make the bid public. A claim Chelsea later described as ʻnonsenseʼ.
Daniel Levy issues a club statement stating that Luka Modric is not for sale at any price to Chelsea or any other club, this information was given to Chelsea directly who chose to ignore it and make the bid public. A claim Chelsea later described as ʻnonsenseʼ.
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| Levy is standing firm over his position in Modric transfer. |
Perhaps a message was sent by Chelsea to Modricʼs agent that the best way to force a move is to go public with comments through the national press, a tactic that is being used more and more by clubs in order to cover up an illegal approach.
Focussing on Daniel Levyʼs statement, which is the key to this whole saga, I see two
possible scenarios:-
Spurs have learnt from the mistakes made by selling Carrick and Berbatov to Man Utd, both these sales hurt Tottenham greatly, it took virtually an entire season to recover from losing Carrick who at the time made Spurs tick, and the sale of Berbatov upset the phenomenal strike rate with Robbie Keane of 90 goals in two seasons. (Robbie Keane also left for greener pastures to Liverpool, we all know how that worked out!) Next season should see a new era with six top teams fighting for the four Champions League positions and for this reason it is imperative that Spurs do not weaken themselves and strengthen one of their rivals by selling their best player, this would put Spurs on the back foot before a ball has even been kicked. I admire Mr Levyʼs stance on this and am pleased to see that Spurs are focussed on being consistently in the top tier competition of European football, to back this up Harry Redknapp has targeted three major signings that should push Spurs on next season. If Modric can be persuaded to stay at the club and the three big signings arrive then Spurs should be ambitious enough to target a higher league position than Chelsea, after all they were really not far behind them last season and were impressive against Chelsea in the first half of both their league meetings, only a little more discipline would be needed for Spurs to achieve more positive results next time.
OR:-
The statement could be an attempt by Levy to convince the fans that the desire for the club to move forward is the main objective, however it could also send a message that the move is possible but it is going to take big money to force a move for a player whoʼs head has already been turned. Levy is a business man, Spurs have sold big players under Levy and made big money, his business savvy has put Spurs in a great position financially and are a club who are in much better shape than most, they have a wage structure in place which helps control the finances but ultimately this will always lead to players who will inevitably turn greedy when another club come in for them and offer three times their current salary. The Club statement and the Managerʼs comments on TalkSport backing up his Chairmanʼs comments ensure Daniel Levy and Harry Redknapp appear innocent in this situation and a victim of player power if Modric still forces a move.
There will of course be big money available to find a suitable replacement should the move go through but how do you replace a player that is an integral part of the team and now has vital Premier League experience? Not all players can arrive in the Premier League and be effective immediately. A likely replacement would be Marko Marin from Werder Bremen who would cost a fraction of any fee Modric would ultimately attract.
The statement does isolate Modric and has the potential to cause more angst in an already unsettled player. I do hope the Spurs Chairman's tough stance has the desired effect and maintains Spurs progress by keeping their best player intact for another season, if this happens it could potentially be a very successful season ahead and Modric will wonder what all the fuss was about.
Follow Adam on Twitter @iSharpey
Focussing on Daniel Levyʼs statement, which is the key to this whole saga, I see two
possible scenarios:-
Spurs have learnt from the mistakes made by selling Carrick and Berbatov to Man Utd, both these sales hurt Tottenham greatly, it took virtually an entire season to recover from losing Carrick who at the time made Spurs tick, and the sale of Berbatov upset the phenomenal strike rate with Robbie Keane of 90 goals in two seasons. (Robbie Keane also left for greener pastures to Liverpool, we all know how that worked out!) Next season should see a new era with six top teams fighting for the four Champions League positions and for this reason it is imperative that Spurs do not weaken themselves and strengthen one of their rivals by selling their best player, this would put Spurs on the back foot before a ball has even been kicked. I admire Mr Levyʼs stance on this and am pleased to see that Spurs are focussed on being consistently in the top tier competition of European football, to back this up Harry Redknapp has targeted three major signings that should push Spurs on next season. If Modric can be persuaded to stay at the club and the three big signings arrive then Spurs should be ambitious enough to target a higher league position than Chelsea, after all they were really not far behind them last season and were impressive against Chelsea in the first half of both their league meetings, only a little more discipline would be needed for Spurs to achieve more positive results next time.
OR:-
The statement could be an attempt by Levy to convince the fans that the desire for the club to move forward is the main objective, however it could also send a message that the move is possible but it is going to take big money to force a move for a player whoʼs head has already been turned. Levy is a business man, Spurs have sold big players under Levy and made big money, his business savvy has put Spurs in a great position financially and are a club who are in much better shape than most, they have a wage structure in place which helps control the finances but ultimately this will always lead to players who will inevitably turn greedy when another club come in for them and offer three times their current salary. The Club statement and the Managerʼs comments on TalkSport backing up his Chairmanʼs comments ensure Daniel Levy and Harry Redknapp appear innocent in this situation and a victim of player power if Modric still forces a move.
There will of course be big money available to find a suitable replacement should the move go through but how do you replace a player that is an integral part of the team and now has vital Premier League experience? Not all players can arrive in the Premier League and be effective immediately. A likely replacement would be Marko Marin from Werder Bremen who would cost a fraction of any fee Modric would ultimately attract.
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| Harry will already have Modric's replacement lined up. |
Follow Adam on Twitter @iSharpey
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