Call me cynical, but this business with Mr. Modric has a very familar feeling about it. It’s almost identical to the early stages of the Berbatov saga, and before him the Carrick saga.
I don’t quite know why the press are so obsessed with cultivating a climate where they believe the only the top 4 deserve to employ best players in the league, but for 4-6 weeks now they have been craftily regurgitating snippets and mis-quotes from all involved in this particular ball-ache.
One might almost be led to believe that they are in the employ of said clubs – but surely not; that would be unethical, and ‘proper’ journo’s would do that would they?!? My worry is that when a story like this refuses to go away, there HAS to be a hidden agenda somewhere.
Whatever the case, these weeks of careful sniping and gossipmongering have finally resulted in Chelsea’s laughable bid – but the main point we should be considering here is not the figure, but the fact that the bid is the next phase of what any reasonable person can see as a not-so-subtle campaign that is only a heartbeat away from illegal “tapping up”. Yes, there may have bneen no sneaky contact and underhand promises made between Luka and his suitors, but you can’t look at all this and not consider that the outcome could well be the same.
In the coming weeks we will no doubt see that figure creep up towards, and maybe beyond the £35m mark. £35m + Drogba, tempted? What about £50m? Realists will tell you everyone has their price, and they’d be true. Imaginne for one second that they come in with £60m. Do you see Levy turning that down? I certainly don’t.
Devil’s advocate here asks you this: Would you swap Luka – who, whilst being a great player, is conspicuosly absent from any European or World Player of the Year lists at the moment – for 3 players of £20m+ calibre? After all, VDV can play that central role, then we could also go back to 4-4-2. If it happened like that it might actually make us stronger next year!
Anyway, let’s be honest with ourselves; as much as we love our super Spurs, until such point as we can convince the rest of the world that we are regular top 4 material, we’re going to have to go through this rigmarole every year. Today Modric, tomorrow Bale.
To answer my own question, Luka has to stay. I know those at the club don’t like to dcomment on specualtion, but they must see this is different. I want to see a statement on the site by the end of the week where Levy says he’s not for sale – even at £100m.
Levy needs to take a stand – not because Luka Modric is irreplacable, because to be brutal; he isn’t, but just to show us, the players and the rest of the world, that we will NOT be bullied into selling our best.
That’s worth more than 60 million pieces of silver.
