Filed under: Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Premier League, Football, Transfer News
Harry Redknapp usually comes to life when the transfer window is open for business but this time the Spurs manager is counting down the days until September 1.Redknapp appeared visibly drained of his usual zest and hyperbole after the defeat at Manchester United in the post-match media conference and the uncertainty over Luka Modric is dictating their start to the season.
His insistence that Modric is not going to Chelsea and will be offered a new contract by chairman Daniel Levy will hardly deter Roman Abramovich from stepping up his interest in the next week.
This transfer is going to run and run until the final hours of the window and Redknapp will dread every time his mobile phone rings on the day Sky Sports love more than anyone.
Even poor Redknapp appears confused by the situation. Last week he hinted that the sale of Modric would boost his own transfer ambitions, but on Monday he was defiant that he was staying.
He said: "He will stay and we will move on. The chairman has made his mind up that he's not going to sell him and there's no point this late in the window because it's hard to get replacements and that won't help anyone.
"The chairman has to sit down with him and have a chat. They fell out a bit over the first meeting. Daniel needs to tell him we want him, that he's important and a big player for us.
"We'll bring in players and if we show him we are an ambitious club you might find the boy will be okay. He's told me he will look at his contract in a month or two and said he's not going. It will be difficult for him to go back on that."
Modric's head was apparently "not in the right place" before the visit to Old Trafford and he was probably a little dazed when he promised Redknapp he would stay.
The simple, unpalatable truth for Spurs is that Modric's head is not just in the right place, his head has been turned by the riches on offer at Stamford Bridge and, of course, Champions League football.
He is the one player Andre Villas-Boas has identified as crucial to his aspirations this season and Chelsea are like a dog with a bone when it comes to transfers.
They will meet extreme resistance from notoriously tough negotiator Levy but make no mistake, this one is still going to run and run.
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