The Battle Lines are Drawn as Luka Modric is Told he Must Stay

Filed under: Football

Any enjoyment Tottenham fans will have had by watching Arsenal struggle in vain to keep hold of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri will have well and truly evaporated now that their own club is in exactly the same position with Luka Modric.

In the Croat's case it is Chelsea, rather than Barcelona or the two Manchester clubs, who are offering him a new chapter in his career - more money and more chance of winning trophies - and Roman Abramovich has already seen a £22 million offer rejected.

For Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, his stance is clear: Modric must stay because otherwise all the good work of the past two seasons will be undone. Tottenham would be seen as a club without genuine ambition to eat at the top table and, after last term's Champions League adventure, he is desperate to avoid that, especially as it would inevitably lead to rivals banging his door down to get at Gareth Bale.

So, Modric is not for sale at any price. "It would make no difference," Levy told Sky Sports News when asked what would happen when Abramovich came back with more money. "This is not about money, we're not selling our best players."

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That statement was made directly after a meeting at White Hart Lane with the player and his agent and Levy was confident Modric would continue to do his best for Spurs even though he had been denied the opportunity to see his weekly wage rise from around the £40,000 mark to around three times that figure.

"Everything was fine, we had a very good conversation and - as I said previously - Luka Modric will not be sold," Levy insisted. "It's the end of it. As I said a few weeks ago, there's no further discussion on it. He was on holiday, we've now had the conversation and he understands our position. I'm sure once he's back with his team-mates everything will be fine."

"Anything is possible," was all the player had to say in public on the issue when quizzed by a Croatian film crew at Zagreb Airport earlier in the day.

Levy is admant that the only possibility is the one he has already decided upon and no doubt many will approve of such a stance in an era of player power were contracrs are signed and then broken. Yet the Fabregas saga, which dates back to a year ago, is surely a reminder that forcing players to stay against their will rarely results in a long-term victory, or indeed a short-term gain on the pitch.

Modric, it can be understood, is unhappy at being prevented from furthering a career he feels, at 25, is entering a critical phase and it is not difficult to imagine the scenario described in The Sun when player met chairman. 'Mod meltdown' was the headline used.

Anything is indeed possible when the transfer window will not be closing for almost another two months and Tottenham are continuing negotiations to sign Spain Under-21 star Juan Mata, who just happens to be wanted by Arsenal as well.

The Valencia player would cost £21 million and that's exactly the sort of sum Levy is willing to pay to signal that Tottenham intend to build on their recent success, not abandon it.

But if Mata does arrive would that persuade Modric to reconsider? Or would the newcomer actually be his replacement? We shall find out by the end of August but in all probablity much, much sooner.

 

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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/07/07/the-battle-lines-are-drawn-as-luka-modric-is-told-he-must-stay/

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