As the season draws nearer, long transfer sagas are finally concluded. Next up? Luka Modric, who has been wanting to leave Tottenham for over a year now, looks like he’ll get his wishes come true and finally complete his transfer to Real Madrid in the coming days.
Still, like everything involved in this deal between the two clubs, it’s not that simple. Modric will fly to Spain and settle his terms with Real Madrid only if Tottenham finally seal a deal for a replacement. On the shortlist – Nuri Sahin, who is owned by Real Madrid and might be involved in an exchange; Yann M’Vila of Rennes, who Tottenham have offered £15 million for this week; And Joao Moutinho of FC Porto, who has also been linked to Manchester United this summer.
Whoever the replacement may be, the good news is that the two clubs have finally agreed on a fee – £23.6 million, plus a further £3.9 million in add-ons, and maybe Nuri Sahin as well as the final kicker to make Tottenham feel pleased about the deal. Spurs already purchased Gylfi Sigurdsson to bolster their midfield this summer, more on the attacking side, and are also looking to add Gaston Ramirez from Bologna and Hugo Lloris from Lyon.
For Real, who coming closer to their Super Cup clash with Barcelona, the first two Clasicos of the year in what might be at least four this season, Modric will be the first signing of the summer and pretty much their only substantial player they’ve targeted these last few months, with Jose Mourinho quite pleased with the squad that continues with him from last season, without losing a single meaningful player.
But the most pleased about all this has to be Modric, who has been left out of the first team training over the last three weeks, practicing by himself, hoping for a resolution and for Daniel Levy to come through on a promise he gave him over a year ago, allowing him to move to Real Madrid. Tottenham were hoping for a £40 million fee, but after realizing that Real Madrid were about to back away from the deal and the fear of keeping a disgruntled Modric pushed them to finally agree to the offer.
There’s still a chance it might fall apart at the final moment because Spurs won’t find the ideal replacement for the Croatian international, but all signs indicate that we have another long and agonizing summer transfer story behind us.