If rumors are to be believed, Real Madrid’s latest offer for Luka Modric was worth £38 million. Once again, it wasn’t enough for Tottenham, who want more money and want all of it at once instead of the usual installments type of pay. Bottom line – Spurs don’t want to let Modric go.
So Real Madrid might have to turn elsewhere, because there’s not much room to go higher after 38. We’ve already reported that Real are looking into the signing of Axel Witsel of Benfica and the whole development in the Modric saga, currently not going anywhere, might continue to push them away from the Croatian, with Wesley Sneijder of Inter, always inside the rumor mill somehow, also on Real Madrid’s mind.
But what’s going on with Modric? Well, the player who has been with Tottenham since 2008 didn’t join them on their preseason tour, missing the plane on purpose, which got him a hefty fine of £100,000 and two weeks of training with the reserves in London. Maybe it changed his mind, or maybe just made him a bit more politically savvy, apologizing for the way he behaved. It doesn’t change the fact that he still wants out.
Andre Villas-Boas said that the entire saga and affair will be resolved when Tottenham get back from the United States, but for now, Modric isn’t part of the first team plans. He’ll have to prove he’s that he’s both physically and mentally at the same level as his teammates before returning to first-team duties and training. Modric might turn into the most expensive reserves player in history.
Luka is doing double sessions on his own in London. When we get back to London I will give some of the players some time off and when we return to sessions we will decide what is best for Luka to do. He is a Tottenham player obviously, but he has to be in good mental condition to return to our training because his colleagues are one level up in terms of preparation and fitness. So we will have to setup a program for him that gradually brings him up to the team, that gradually brings him to fitness level – and then see what happens.