Harry Redknapp: Luka Modric staying 1,000,000 %
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Chelsea go back in with new £30m bid for Luka Modric
VALUED ... now Blues rate Luka Modric at £30mCHELSEA will make a third bid for Luka Modric this week.
The Blues are set to improve their offer to £30million but insist they will not break the bank to sign the Croatian playmaker.
Tottenham have already rejected raids of £22m and £27m from their London neighbours.
Yet Chelsea are confident £30m will finally land their man - a figure that still falls way below Spurs boss Harry Redknapp's valuation for the unsettled midfielder, who missed Saturday's pre-season friendly at Brighton due to illness.
New Blues chief Andre Villas-Boas has already spoken with Stamford Bridge chief executive Ron Gourlay about new signings.
When asked about Modric, Gourlay said: "I don't like talking about players from other clubs. But that's something we'll look at during the week and we'll take it from there.
"We really need to sit down with Andre and talk this through.
"Even though we've been travelling in the Far East for the past two weeks, you can still be active in the marketplace nowadays.
"The communication is always there with our guys back in London or wherever they are around the world."
Chelsea tried Yossi Benayoun in the playmaker's role during their first game at the Barclays Asia Trophy in Hong Kong last week.
And Villas-Boas believes the team needs more attacking creativity if they are to challenge Manchester United's dominance in the forthcoming season.Chelsea's problem is they have already reached their squad limit for senior overseas players and are struggling to offload various unwanted squad members.
Blues stars on good contracts that still have some time to run are unwilling to lower their sights.
Michael Essien's latest knee injury has created space for one new foreign player.
But Villas-Boas will still have to sell someone if he wants to re-register the crocked Ghanaian international in January.
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Yossi for Luka! Chelsea offer Benayoun to Spurs to seal Modric deal
Makeweight: Yossi Benayoun (right) has struggled to hold down a starting place
Chelsea are prepared to use Yossi Benayoun as bait in their attempt to prise Luka Modric from Tottenham.
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has long been an admirer of Benayoun, and showed interest in the creative midfielder when he left Liverpool last year.
The Israel captain moved to Stamford Bridge instead but failed to make an impression in a season wrecked by a heel injury.
He has been bright during pre-season but it is indicative of Chelsea’s desire to land Modric that Andre Villas-Boas is prepared to sacrifice Benayoun.
Since arriving from Porto in June, Villas-Boas has spoken many times about the importance of players who can operate ‘between the lines’, bringing fluidity and unpredictability to Chelsea’s rigid system.
Benayoun fits into this category, not to mention the fact that he is perhaps the only player to have displayed any chemistry with Fernando Torres.
Leaving? Chelsea have had two bids rejected for Tottenham's Luka Modric
The pair used to room together when they played for Liverpool and Torres has looked most alive during his eight months at Chelsea when the Israeli has been on the pitch with him.
However, Benayoun is 31 and has two years left on the deal he signed when moving from Anfield for £5.5million last summer.
He has barely played for the Blues, having ruptured an achilles tendon in September and spent seven months recuperating, an absence which limited him to only one start in the Premier League under Carlo Ancelotti.
A move to Tottenham might appeal to Benayoun, who is on international duty with Israel in Geneva, where they play a friendly against the Ivory Coast on Wednesday.
Spurs, who have rejected bids of £22m and £27m, are optimistic that they can fight off Chelsea’s interest and convince Modric, who is in Ireland with Croatia, to commit to at least one more year at White Hart Lane, even though he has already said he wants to leave.
Redknapp’s midfield options have already been depleted by injuries and he learned that Steven Pienaar will miss the first six weeks of the season after groin surgery. Sandro is out with a knee injury sustained training with Brazil at the Copa America last month.
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Roman offers £40m for Modric while Bellamy says 'yes' to Spurs
Mod rocker: Chelsea target Luka Modric
Roman Abramovich has launched one last £40million bid to prise Luka Modric from Tottenham and add more guile to Chelsea's stuttering midfield.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has rejected offers of £22m and £27m but Chelsea's Russian owner is determined to test the north London club's resolve to the limit before Wednesday night's closure of the transfer window.
Tottenham are planning a busy week themselves by signing Wales striker Craig Bellamy, 32, from Manchester City, who they play on Sunday at White Hart Lane. Having already taken City striker Emmanuel Adebayor on loan, Spurs manager Harry Redknapp is also expected to bring in midfield reinforcements in the shape of West Ham's Scott Parker and Lassana Diarra of Real Madrid.
Leaving Spurs are Peter Crouch and Wilson Palacios (both to Stoke) plus defender Alan Hutton (Aston Villa).
Levy is determined to dig his heels in over Modric, 25, offering him a pay increase to £85,000 per week in an attempt to keep the player for another season. It represents a rise of £20,000 per week on the six-year deal that the Croat signed last summer.
Unwanted: Craig Bellamy has no future at Manchester City
Abramovich made Modric one of his top targets and the player publicly pushed for a lucrative move to Stamford Bridge and the chance to play Champions League football.
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas saw his side labour for long spells in a 3-1 home win against Norwich on Saturday. When questioned about Modric later, he said: 'If it happens, it happens.'
Should Abramovich be rebuffed again, he could even make a move for Inter Milan's Wesley Sneijder, a long-term Manchester United target. Inter want Chelsea winger Florent Malouda plus £27.5m.
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chelsea can still meet the UEFA new rules of financial fair play meh, if they keep spending like that?
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Are they vsing man city whoever spend the most $$
Veri nice picture from Bellamy together with a dustbin -
Daniel Levy must be the worst chairman to deal with... This guy always gets his way... He squeezed Roman until from $22m to $40m... A super wheeler-dealer this guy... In the process can get Yossi Benayoun also not too bad as Harry does need some creativity in their midfield...
Also beating Pool to Bellamy is also a good deal after having already capture Emmanuel Adebayor from City earlier...
10 deals in 10 days... lol... I think Harry can make it...
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Originally posted by Rooney9:
chelsea can still meet the UEFA new rules of financial fair play meh, if they keep spending like that?
I think for they gave clubs 3 seasons from 2010/11 onwards to get their house in order, so they are still allow to have a deficit of $45m euros but it gradually becomes lesser... I think that's whay everybody is rushing to buy now... lol. Cos you see Liverpool, spent $100 over million pounds liao just this year alone but they don't generate half of this amount a season anyway...So the financial fair play rule will take some time but it's coming very soon...
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Give them kalou over benayoun pls!
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diarra should join spurs.
why sit on the bench at Real?
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Bro Zocoss, what's the source that you got the news of "Roman offers £40m for Modric while Bellamy says 'yes' to Spurs"?
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Originally posted by Cristiano@Red_Devils.com:
Bro Zocoss, what’s the source that you got the news of “Roman offers £40m for Modric while Bellamy says ‘yes’ to Spurs”?
Just one of the websites lor like Daily Mail front page... Just like the Adebayor one they said on, off, on, off... Then now deal liao... It's said because of the way the clubs wanted how the deal to go that's why the delay... City wanted to sell Spurs only want to loan as they cannot pay transfer fee and Ade's fat salary... Now it's said City pay half ($85k) Spurs pay half... The window is closing in 3 days and take into account the medical and personal terms to agree on and all those, the deals could be under way and could happen any moment i guess... -
Thanks man. Asked cos i dont see it in any other football sites such as soccernet.
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As a spurs fan, it's sad to see Modric go. But at 40mil pounds, I say it's a good piece of business. And I like the names of the players who have arrived (Adebayor) and those linked as possible arrivals, especially Scott Parker. Bellamy is a brilliant player provided he keeps his temper in check. I'm not a big fan of Lassana Diarra, but I guess he would be a good replacement for Palacios, and hope he comes cheap. This season would be a uphill battle for Spurs to even hold onto their 5th spot.
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Parker's arrival may signal Modric is finally going... ?
No point keeping Modric as the money on offer is rather good...
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why do chelsea want modric so much? go get a spanish midfielder. they are more creative.
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I wonder why modric is needed in the chelsea midfield. Thought juan mata's arrival would have put paid to that.
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essien is crocked, lampard is aging...that's why...
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Well I guess it's always good to have a younger player cos Lampard is old already and becoming slower... Can you imagine if he has to play one match every 3 to 4 days at the busy end of the season... I don't think he will be able to perform even now once a week he is already quite slow. Moreover, he isn't creative at all... Lampard's style is run from midfield, pass the ball to the side then run into the box kind... Modric would be much different I think, Torres may benefit from Modric arrival... Cos at the moment, Lampard just don't do the passing kind... He wants to go for goals all the time at the expense of the strikers...
Lampard's time is coming to an end liao... If they persist with him, he will do more harm than good for them...
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Also, Chelsea's new young Drogba don't seem very good leh... Not impress with him yet... For $20m, a foreigner somemore... not that good leh... A bit costly...
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King wants Modric resolution
By ESPNsoccernet staff
GettyImagesThe uncertainty over Luka Modric's future is a concern for Ledley KingTottenham Hotspur defender Ledley King wants a resolution to the uncertainty surrounding Luka Modric's future.
Modric has been strongly linked with a move to Premier League rivals Chelsea, who have seen offers of £22 million and £27 million rejected by Tottenham.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp said last week that the Modric saga is now "finished", and the Croatia international made his first appearance for the club this season as Manchester City won 5-1 on Sunday.
But speculation remains over Modric's future, and King told Sky Sports News: "It's been ongoing for the whole of the summer. As players we want him to stay, he's a great lad.
"The sooner it's done, either way, the better. I don't think it (the speculation) helps at the end of the day. We've had this issue before with Berbatov. It was a similar start for us then.
"I don't think it helps in any way. As players you try and get on with the job the best you can. We, as players, want the window to close now so we can get on with the squad that we've got and get on with business."
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Luka's staying! Croatia team-mate Klasnic reveals Modric expects to stay at Spurs
Hot Spur: Luka Modric is desperate to move to Chelsea, but may have to stay at Tottenham
Luka Modric appears to be coming to terms with the fact he may have to stay at Spurs, according to the midfielder’s international team-mate Ivan Klasnic.
The Croatia midfielder has been the subject of a £30million bid from Chelsea over the summer. Modric is preparing for the clash against Malta.
Klasnic said: ‘I talked with Luka while we ran laps and he told me it was difficult and that he might have to stay.’
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Harry Redknapp: No way Luka Modric will leave Tottenham
JOSTLING FOR A MOVE ... Luka ModricTOTTENHAM boss Harry Redknapp insists there is no chance of Luka Modric leaving the club today.
The Croatia midfielder has been jostling for a move to Chelsea this summer and there had been suggestions the deal could be revived before the summer window closes at 11pm.
But Redknapp said he was convinced that chairman Daniel Levy will not sell.
He said: "No, that won't happen. One million per cent."
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Hold your nerve, Mr Levy, or we'll never believe you
Grounded: Luka Modric has done everything he can to force a move out of Tottenham... but will he get his wish on deadline day
Just one more day to go. The transfer window closes on Wednesday, August 31 at 11pm, meaning Daniel Levy, chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, has mere hours to stay true to his word that Luka Modric will not be sold.
The saga has murdered Tottenham this summer, but the long-term gains are huge. If Levy holds fast, he can change the perception of his club; if he does not, he will have little credibility left.
It has long been presumed that Levy’s resistance was merely a bargaining tool. Tottenham always say never, it was argued, then the price goes up and they sell. And that is why Chelsea have been so persistent in their pursuit and Modric so artful in his antics.
Asking not to play on the day of a huge home match with Manchester City is the act of a man who thinks his employers are weak. All along, the belief has been that if Modric acts up and Chelsea pay up, the deal will get done.
That is how it has been in the past and if Levy does not change the narrative around Tottenham, it is how it will be in the future, too. If Levy sells Modric after all his protestations, the big clubs will come for Gareth Bale next time or Rafael van der Vaart or Michael Dawson.
And they won’t be put off by rebuttal, however firm, because they will know that, to Levy, ‘no’ is just another way of saying ‘come back with more money’.
Sell Modric and Tottenham will regress from being Champions League contenders to merely the prestige feeder club for the elite, solving the problems of Manchester United or Chelsea by offering up the missing piece in their jigsaw.
There is a political issue here, too. Tottenham have recently earned a judicial review of the award of the Olympic Stadium to West Ham United. Their plans for the site contain a lot of promises and pledges that need to be kept.
They want to knock the stadium down, build the new White Hart Lane in its place, and will finance the redevelopment of the Crystal Palace athletics arena as compensation.
But what will a robust opponent such as Karren Brady of West Ham make of it if the Tottenham chairman spends all summer saying never over Modric and then sells him? She might argue his word cannot be trusted.
She might point out that last summer West Ham faced a similar situation over Scott Parker but resisted all offers after co-owner David Sullivan insisted he would not be sold (Parker has gone now, but only as a result of relegation; just as, if Tottenham were relegated, the sale of Modric would be an obvious consequence).
Levy cannot really afford to be publicly revealed as two-faced at a time when he desperately needs to be shown as a man of his word. Yes, Modric’s behaviour has poisoned the club, yet get through today and he will have little choice but to settle down.
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if chelsea bid modric for 50m, see if spurs will sell or not lol
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I think Chelsea may have to go for Sneijder at the end cos they seem like they can't get the play-maker they want... Provided Inter is willing to sell also lah...