He's over 30 now and his all action game has caught up with his body, you won't be seeing the Cahill of 3/4 yrs ago again. Take his engine away and I don't think he has much to offer after that, considering getting himself into good positions, usually arriving late at pace, is the main part of his game.
Paris St-Germain express interest in Tottenham's Luka Modric • French club may be prepared to pay £40m asking price • Croatia midfielder holding out for Real Madrid That strengthens Levy's hand.
Modric replacements, according to Give Me Football, with estimated fees: Santi Cazorla (Malaga, £20m) Christian Eriksen (Ajax, £20m) Joao Moutinho (Porto, £30m) Willian (Shakhtar Donetsk, £19m) Nuri Sahin (Real Madrid, part exchange) The papers are once again referring to Malaga as "cash-strapped" despite their owners being the third richest in European football (although, to counter that, there is talk of Cazorla and three other players not being paid on time), whilst other reports say AVB favours Moutinho over Sahin which is another stumbling block with that potential deal. So, thoughts and/or suggestions on that list? Come to think of it, another couple of suggestions: Milan Badelj (Dinamo Zagreb, £4m) Joe Allen (Swansea, £15m)
I dunno if i just didn't watch enough Swansea last season but Joe Allen really didn't stand out for me. When he started getting banded about for £15-20m i was shocked. I thought Willian/Eriksen were more attacking? Can't say i know enough about the rest to comment.
no chance Modric will go psg when madrid are in the bidding process, no matter how much psg offer. Loving how levy hasn't budged, and isn't giving in to modric's 'demands'.
SSN are linking us to a possible bid for this guy. Anybody? http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11675/7931967/AVB-planning-Atsu-approach
I'd be extremely happy if we got Moutinho. I think he's every bit as good as Modric (though of course, different in some ways--he'll score and assist more, but won't be as good harrassing the ball). Everyone else is, I think, a step down. But from what little I know there's no serious chance of getting him.
Looks like one for the future (or NexGen team) to me - probably a replacement for Dos Santos in the pecking order.
I do like Levy...screwing more money out of City for Ade and Madrid for Modric...little ol Spurs calling the shots! love it!
morning guys, hope everyone is well. Struggled to get on here recently. soo busy. (and guilty of soaking up the sun in my spare time!) just seen the link to Astu. - this could be the winger we've been needing to add, to back up bale and lennon. finally! reports on Google refer to him as a "whizzkid". can't say i've seen anything of him to be honest. Dona, i'm sure you'll know everything there is to know! just to touch on your "screwing money" out of other clubs comment notso, the modric saga is now getting very interesting. if the reports are true that PSG are willing to stump up the £40 mill, it's going to be worth keeping an eye on this saga for a few reasons. firstly, it screws Real out of even more money which they are so reluctant to pay (should they choose to match it). PSG's bid will obliterate the rumoured £27mill bid we're hearing from real. hilarious! "little old spurs" like you say, will be calling the shots. but it'll also be interesting to see what modric does. apparently he wants to "win trophies". - fair game. we're not quite there yet, despite the fact we could be very soon, if he was to stick with us. - but that's another conversation all together. it'll really be a test of Modric's character if he ended up agreeing a deal with PSG. I'm sorry, but a transfer to france would just go to show that it's about money and not trophies. IMO, the best 4 leagues are the Prem, La Liga, Serie A and the Bundesliga. This is why I can understand the preferred switch to Spain. But if he goes to Ligue 1 to pay for PSG, any love I have left for Modric will disappear. Ligue 1 is just a feeder league to the "better" leagues around Europe these days. In addition, if he wants to win trophies, yes, he might at PSG. - Ligue 1 winners next season is very likely. but come on, Ligue 1??!! PSG are spending like city did, but in football you can't just buy instant success, it takes 2-3 years, even with the money available at city and PSG. players have to gel and will need time. IMO, "success" for PSG requires much more that winning Ligue 1, when a club are spending that sort of money. So for me, should that move happen, It's going to tell us a lot. To be fair, Modric is probably a money hungry player already, but this move would give us actual evidence. o, and we get £40m in the process, whilst getting rid of someone who's proving to be an absolute ****er. win win?
I can see PSG challenging for the CL as long as they keep spending every year so I don't see PSG as a purely money choice, although clearly money is important to Modric. He couldn't apologise and kiss Levy's ring fast enough after he got the 2 week fine.
One thing I've been wondering is that if we're able to sign Lloris, does that mean we could maybe sign other players from them too? What about Kallstrom to replace Modric? Or Lopez/Bastos/Briand to take up the wide forward AVB likes?
Money is clearly important to Modric. If he really wants to force a move, if he were to accept £57,500/week (a rise on his current salary of 43.75%-not bad in an economic downturn) rather than the £120,000/week that RM are allegedly offering, the difference over 4 years is (4yearsX52weeks X £62,500) = £13,000,000. This £13,000,000 could be used to make up the difference between what RM are offering and DL's valuation. Problem solved.
