http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896...ed-ready-to-give-up-pursuit-of-tottenham-star Manchester United ready to give up pursuit of Tottenham star Luka Modric & focus on Inter's Wesley Sneijder Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson fears he will not be able to afford Croatian playmaker & is concentrating on other targets as the Netherlands international becomes main priority Manchester United are ready to give up their summer pursuit of Tottenham star Luka Modric and have made Inter playmaker Wesley Sneijder their main target for the rest of the summer, Goal.com has learned. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has had an enquiry for Modric dismissed out of hand by Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and the Scot fears it would take a whopping £50 million to take the Croatian to Old Trafford. Modric had been Ferguson's first choice to replace Paul Scholes in United's central midfield and the 25-year-old has left himself open to a summer switch, declaring his desire to play for a Champions League club. Goal.com understands that United believe that Modric will stay at Spurs next season and, even if he does leave north London, rivals Chelsea are a more realistic destination as billionaire owner Roman Abramovich is more likely to break the bank for the midfielder. âSpurs are deadly serious about keeping Modric and it would take insane money for him to leave this transfer window,â a source told Goal.com. âNo club in their right mind would pay what Tottenham want, certainly not United without a multi-billionaire backer.â Ferguson will continue to monitor Modric's situation but will now focus on other options, most notably Sneijder, who is believed to be extremely keen on a move to the Premier League champions. United would be willing to pay Inter £30-35m for Sneijder but face a major stumbling block over meeting the Dutch star's wages, which are widely reported to be £170,000-a-week after tax. Sneijder, 27, feels ready for a new challenge and has angered the Italian giants by refusing to rule out a move away from San Siro to the Premier League, where Chelsea are also known admirers. âThe Inter fans have always treated me very well,â he said last week. âThey were wonderful and I want to simply thank them. âThen, only God will decide where my future lies.â Ferguson believes United are going through a pivotal rebuilding phase and is ready to spend £60m this summer, in addition to cash raised from player sales. Phil Jones became the first arrival as his £16.5m move from Blackburn was officially confirmed on Monday, while deals are in place to sign winger Ashley Young from Aston Villa for £16m and goalkeeper David de Gea from Atletico Madrid for £18.3m. United have also been strongly linked with Udinese winger Alexis Sanchez but Ferguson's priority for the rest of the window is to secure at least one central midfielder. Liverpool-bound Charlie Adam has been considered by the Old Trafford hierarchy while the latest reports in Europe have credited United with an interest in Sochaux playmaker Marvin Martin. Spurs, meanwhile, will continue to dig their heels in over Modric and could kill their interest in Chelsea striker Didier Drogba to hold on to the former Dinamo Zagreb man, who cost £16.5m when he arrived in the summer of 2008. Manager Harry Redknapp insists it is crucial the Londoners keep star players like Modric and Gareth Bale, while adding two or three new faces, if they are to challenge for a top four finish next season. The Spurs boss has prioritised improving the club's strikeforce and is hopeful of concluding a £12m deal for Leandro Damiao, the Brazilian international who plays for Internacional.
Somebody ought to tell that Jacobite Knight that we English beat the Scots at Culloden and it's time we stood up to him again and tell him to Naff off and leave Modric alone,he's crucial to us.
We get WUM's posting links all the time saying Modric is on his way so I linked this to see what they say. Surprisingly it's all quiet..
They've cut the debt down quite a lot over the past 2 years. There's still a lot but it appears manageable. Anyway with Sanchez looking like he's on his way it looks like they'll start selling players before they move for anyone else. I'm not sure how Modric or Sneijder would fit into Utd's team anyway, to be honest, I expected Anderson to step up as a first team regular next season and I've thought they'd need someone a bit more defensive along side him.
So SAF is giving up on his pursuit of a Modric whom we all know stated his desire to stay at Spurs, and turning up his pursuit of Sneijder who just a few days ago stated his desire to stay at Inter. Nice one that. I wish him luck. On another note, the quote at the bottom of the article made me chuckle. "Brazilian international who plays for Internacional" I know they're spelt differently but I'm easily amused
u know what this means dont you....last day of season......we sign someone like adams for 10 million and luka is running bowt on some joggin machine in manchetser with lotsa little plugs allover him and fergie stood next to him having agreed a 36 million fee and levy telling everybody that we got the upper hand in this etc!!!!!
Thank goodness! I can't understand why he's being linked away from WHL with a bid in the region of £20-25 million pounds. He's worth FAR more than that. Firstly, he is our best player by far and secondly, he has 5 or 6 years left on his contract. That is a considerable amount of time and if Utd or Chelsea want to buy him, they need to take into account the length of his contract.
Sorry I keep using that 'smiley'...I'm easily amused too! If we've finally stood our ground on this, that should send the message. Imo, Chelsea have even less chance, may aswell forget Drogba too, they wouldn't sell to us out of spite. If they're looking for a playmaker, does that mean they've had enough of Frank?
As I've said before, I can't see Man Utd having a chance of signing Modric, which is why the stories are so annoying. Unsettle the player and then move on.
