Maybe I shouldn’t go any further with removing the cling film from the major can of worms that is Luka Modric possibly leaving us for Chelsea; another story chewed over so much that the Innocent Drinks Co. might consider it as an idea for a new smoothie flavour.
However, I like having the final say on stuff, especially football-related discussion. So, I have been wondering what would happen if Modrić DID leave for £30-£35m. Would it be that bad? Would it give other midfielders a chance perhaps?
Maybe this would be a sign of Harry crawling back on all-fours to Niko Kranjcar and both Croatians have expressed a desire to leave The Lane for different reasons.
From here I’ll assume that Modrić has left and Kranjcar is still here:
Let’s touch on the financial implications first. Modric surprisingly doesn’t believe in paper contracts, much like other footballers who don’t know what the words ‘legally-binding’ and ‘United Kingdom Law’ mean when signing a contract. So he’s decided to forget that he signed a new 6-year contract and forget that he appreciated Spurs for giving him exposure in the English League. Chelsea started with a rather paltry £22m bid, only a few million more than what Spurs paid for him back in 2009. But then they got more serious and offered closer to £30m. £25m plus Drogba would’ve convinced me to sell Modric. Playing hardball is the key to a good profit and a possible last laugh if he flops like Berbatov did in his first few seasons at United.
Chelsea have recently upped their bid to £30m PLUS a striker! But it was Daniel Sturridge who was to be included, not Didier Drogba. Sturridge would be a slight gamble whereas Drogba would be a surefire hit as we’ve all seen it for ourselves.
Kranjcar could finally get a proper run of games to exhibit his finesse on the pitch. I believe Kranjcar can do exactly what Modric can do and more. Modric has scored 9 goals in 91 appearances while Kranjcar has scored 11 goals in 40 appearances including the matches he entered as a substitute. That matches how many Robbie Keane has scored since returning from Liverpool, barring one extra appearance by Keane. A great playmaker like Modrić is a fantastic asset to any team, but a great goalscoring playmaker is even better!
Croatia’s national team are the Mexicans of Europe. They’re not the most successful in international competition, but they can sure put on a show like their more successful continental opponents; with a feast of fluid football and the odd individual trick thrown in, the only difference between them and teams like Brazil and Italy is a major trophy; and that doesn’t do them justice.
You say I’ve gone way off topic, but not quite. What I’m trying to say is that every Croatian midfielder I’ve seen play in recent years has great vision and skill on the ball. Kranjcar and Modrić share those attributes. It seems as if Slaven Bilić ensured it was a criteria for getting called up.
And even if Kranjcar was to leave as well, we’d still have perfectly good back-ups to fill the void. Giovani Dos Santos would get the games that he should’ve had when he first arrived. Bags of energy and skill from him would give the team some added pace. Sometimes the way we play can be laggy, passing across the pitch rather than towards the goal purely for possession purposes. No point in having the ball if you’re not going to do anything with it. Dos Santos is even more forward-thinking than some of our strikers.
If there was a complete clearout of the three aforementioned players, there’d be more incentive to look within our reserves and academy for a replacement. Dean Parrett will be great I’m telling you.
Have I been jumping the gun about how this team will cope without Modrić? Yes. It might not matter if Modrić wants to leave. Let the baby have its bottle if this is how he truly feels about staying at Spurs. Sure it’ll take a bit of time to adjust, but this squad has managed 5th place with constant injuries to defenders/other key players AND a measly goal difference of +7!
That tells me all I need to know about the team – They can cope with anything.
Players leaving for clubs viewed as ‘bigger’ is nothing new to Spurs.
New mantra proposal -To just get on with it is to do.
23 Responses to “The Worst-Croat Scenario”
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Fail
Krankie’s passing..Ok admittedly against MK Dons was rather sublime….
I keep seeing these money plus Drogba comments, and it amazed me.
Does anyone seriously think Drogba would join us, and the wages he must be on at Chelski would surely be stupidly higher than our wage budget. It’ll never happen!
Jano, that’s my point. It’s to put Chelsea off of pursuing Modric any further.
Of course Drogba wouldn’t join us.
Levy put Modric’s price up by £5m from £30m to put them off.
When did they offer £30m plus Sturridge? Come to think of it when did they offer anything more thsan their first sum of £22m that was rejected out of hand?
stupid article…we’re useless and get over modric.
no signings! we’ve already been left behind matey and we are looking poor ahead of the new season
stop being a typically fickle Spurs fan. Moan moan moan…do you think we have the millions to waste to buy a world class player and then pay them in excess of £100,000 a week????? We will sign a couple of players that will improve the team greatly. How do I know this? It’s Tottenham, it is normal for us to wait to the last minute, but we always deliver
Alex you still talk out your ASS!! Lay of the crack. or try kicking a football then you may understand a little about the beautiful game.
Are you Defoe out!’s gay younger brother?
It was reported that they were going to offer £27m plus Sturridge, don’t know if they did. if they upped it to £30m + Sturr I’d accept.
Krankie is not a central midfielder IMO, nor is Dos Santos.
I wouldn’t take drogba, to old, i would get in that player sandro recommended
I wouldn’t take drogba, to old, i would get in that player sandro recommended and start harry kane, rooney started at everton when he was 16. harrys 17 and banging them in
I agree with the second part of your comment, but not the first.
I hate this ageism running through people’s opinions of players.
Drogba’s talent is obvious to everyone and age shouldn’t come into it when a player is doing his job better than any younger player every week. But then if I mentioned a young player you’d probably say ‘he’s too young and unproven in the premier league’.
If every single manager had that opinion, nobody would sign anyone and no player would be brought up through the ranks, which means no football teams…
Whether Modric goes or not I am past caring. Great if he doesn’t, great if he does (financially, because he will only go when Chelski meet DL’s valuation).
I more bothered by our left hand side. Bale is great when fit, but I see him as a Darren Anderton type player who will play 10 matches if your luck and then be out for two months.
HR will have to decide on either playing Kranjar or Pienaar. With our +7 goal difference last season, I would like to see Kranjar played more regularly, as Pienaar looked as useful as our strikers in front of goal. Nico will set up goals and score regularly as his only thought near the box is to test the keeper. I would play him every time in front of the defensive Pienaar, but I’m sure HR will have other ideas.
I do like the thought of Affelay adding to our Dutch contingent, coming in and providing competition for Lennon on the right..
First of all your article is pointless because when Daniel Levy says you’re not for sale, he means YOU’RE NOT FOR SALE – end of. However in the unlikely event that he did sell, we don’t have a replacement. If we did, Daniel Levy would sell him. However, there is a player who I believe is very similar and could fill the position. Marko Marin of Werder Bremen. We could probably come out of the deal with around £12 – £15m change. Good business and the kind of deal Mr Levy is renowned for.