Spurs are not willing to sell Modric AND Bale
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at 12:36AM Tottenham will not be entertaining any bids for their key players this summer, news that will disappoint the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea along with dozens of journalists and sports writers across the country.
Luka Modric and Gareth Bale - both on long term contracts will remain at White Hart Lane as the North London club look to reignite their push for a Champions League spot next season.
Dearmrlevy.com understands that chairman Daniel Levy will only sell players considered to be surplus to requirements. The likes of Alan Hutton and Jamie O'Hara, more viable transfer targets for any one looking to spend some cash in N17.
The main focus for the chairman and manager, Henry James 'Harry' Redknapp, is to pin point new recruits with a centre-forward the main goal for the club. Daniel Levy has already reiterated they will not be selling any of their key players and are in a strong position to once more battle for a top four place if they strengthen their squad accordingly.
A source within the walls of White Hart Lane revealed, "I think people are using their hands to count up numbers in the dark rather than a trusted calculator in the light of day. £20M-£25M for a player Spurs paid £16.5M for is laughable considering his form and quality and even more so that Levy would be willing to entertain offers from a Champions League club as though we're sat 10th in the table with no hope of further progression".
The source also stated '...you wouldn't sell someone a twenty pound note for a quid'.
Luka Modric himself recently spoke about his desire to stay, "The fans are amazing, the club is amazing. There are Croatians here. I really do enjoy it here. I’m not missing anything. I think this club can achieve a lot of great things. I think we can challenge for the Premier League and the cups".
Welsh wizard Gareth Bale also pledged his loyalty to the Lilywhites in an Interview with Sky Sports News. But there are suggestions from some quarters that perhaps CGI and audio manipulation were used in both instances by Tottenham to hide the reality that both players are desperate for a move away.
Elsewhere, tabloid newspapers will wait another three days before rehashing the same quotes with additional ambiguity and citing Modric and Bale as £18M targets (value will drop with each exclusive) as they continue to unofficially broker a deal for any Champions League side that might be theoretically interested. Along with Juventus.
Potential replacements for Modric will only cost around £8M because it's the right amount of money to spend when replacing a player that is worth anywhere between £30M - £40M in todays inflated market.
In other news, if Manchester United or Chelsea or Manchester City for that matter do not sign Modric or Bale this summer, they most definitely will the following because Tottenham can't possibly finish back in the top four and retain their key players a second successive summer if they return to Europe's elite competition. That is simply not a viable scenario and we shall not speak of it again.
Reader Comments (46)
The Daily Mail are so desperate to help the Govan Grump, they've even lined up a replacement for us. Are they officially acting as agents now?
So true Spooky!
The media are desperate for a 'big club' to sign our best players.
They're probably rampantly masturbating to the thought of Modric in a Man Utd shirt.
Give it a week or two before they give up on the Modric and Bale leaving stories, and re-hash their Van der Vaart and Sandro leaving stories.
I think Ferguson is getting these 'articles' written, to unsettle the players. Before he would say 'in passing' (Harry style) how he admired a player, but he's afraid now that he will be done for tapping up, so he gets the 'scum' Journo's to do it for him.
The Mirror is reporting that Bale will be sold for £50m, and Spurs will accept as little as £20m for Modric. The source of this nonsense is none other than Darren Lewis who is ......a Gooner. Most of the journos on the Mirror are Gooners, but their vendetta against us gets very tiresome.
Simple answer is just ignore them ...Trust in DL and keep Arry away from the bargain basement !!!
One Good central defender and one good goal scorer ..trim off some of the surplus Hutton, woodgate, Bassong, Jenas, Crouch, Keane then bring back and utilise some of the young blood currently on loan....
Give each player regular gametime and rotation we have a fantastic squad to bond together for the start of next season...
Gomes / Cudicinni (I know but I still rate him)
Corluka/Walker...King/Kaboul..Gallas/Dawson/ Kumalo...BAE /Rose
Lennon/Dos Santos.. Sandros/Palacios/O'Hara...Modric/Hudd/Livermore...Bale/Pienaar
VDV /PAV/Defoe/???
Tony, Darren Lewis is a Liverpool supporter you racist cunt!!!
I've heard Darren Lewis say he's a gooner- no need to be abusive
The whole scenario re Modric and Bale is identical to the Berbatov fiasco a couple of years back. Planted stories to first unsettle the players, then suggested fees, etc. This whole tactic needs to be investigated. Maybe Sepp Blather could do it.
what was racist about tonys post dave? u cunt
As there are 3 months until dealtime, this is as premature as, well, something that is earlier as you get older.
Gentlemen please, this isn't the sun's forum.
Spooky does his best to be eloquent, even when being derisory, the least you could do is to make an attempt at some sort of dialect (preferably local to that of Noorf Larnden) and the corresponding grammar (not going all 'wanker grammar police' just trying to keep standards up during half term).
Anyway, as for the myriad of shit already out there, well, Journo's gotta pay their bills; Don't hate the players, hate the game.
Modric for £20mil? it's like they have three tombola's side by side, one with a spurs players names in, one with potential values, and one with CL clubs (and Juve).
Only problem is that they can only spell 'bale', 'modric', 'vdv' and 'sandro'.
The bigger more entertaining picture is that as FIFA 'crisis, what crisis' HQ. You wouldn't believe it, evn if you heard it for yourself, until you remembered it was Sepp Blatter in charge.
Agree Ferguson fan or support are behind number of current headlines i think the Manchester united owners are getting little fed-up with mr Ferguson spending what can’t understand for club the so called size of Manchester when did last see great player come out of youth system , but yet again he seem to interested in modric or bale or both where did 20 million come from for player who’s just sign new contract i don’t want to sell him but if we did i’d put figure 40 million plus player which would open up to one two other teams message to all top four if you didn’t have champion league what else do you have to lure players –ferguson has shown at weekend that he obstinate as well old fashion and his style football numbered
Well reasoned, there does seem to be this media engine trying to push some agenda, lazy journalism without bothering to think through the permutations.
Re some of the posts school's out.
Jesus Christ, everybody is now running with the 'we'll accept £20M for Modric' story.
Just staggeringly funny.
Agreed Spooky. All the other stories now reckon £25m!?! All the ITK on the forums have said he is not for sale at any price. I reckon United would need to add £10-15m for Dear ML to think about it. The 'replacement' plays more as a defensively minded centre midfielder, although he does score goals which is something our Luka dose not do - and is something he needs to improve upon.
I have it on good authority that the next set of headlines from the Mirror & Mail will read "Please Spurs, sell Modric to Man U"... Followed on Wednesday by the EXCLUSIVE "Pretty please, will you sell" etc. etc.
It is very quiet in journo land at the mo' and i hope that some blockbuster signing or will he/won't he story comes along to take the heat off of Modders. Fergie knows that Modric could be the perfect link in midfield to help them compete with Barcelona and with Paul Scholes retiring today this will only help fuel the speculation. I expect Levy to hold tight. Everyone says he is a money grabbing so n so but we had to sell both Berbatov & Keane. Luka does love Spurs and if we show enough ambition in the transfer window i'm sure he will still be a Spurs player next season.
I'm pretty sure that if Modric goes Harry will not be too far behind. It is no secret that he rates him as our best player and that would be the final nail in the coffin for Redders.
What's the crack with this Friedel story? Cudicini has signed a new contract so are we really gonna swap Gomes for a 40 year old? Is he really that good?
Picture it Levy's office, Danny on the blower.
"Sir Alex, 20million will do just fine, it's always nice doing business with you, you know our terms so well. Thought Carrick and Berbatov looked well on Saturday night." Off the source runs, ITK in effect.
The conversation continues.....
"And the second and third payments of 15million are due the 2 years after, you're not dealing with DFS sunshine."
"So then 3million for Berbatov still ok with you, and you still looking for a goalie by any chance?"
I'm not worried about us losing Modric and Bale this year, tabloids are talking rubbish. However, I am worried that we will sign Carlton Cole/Joe Cole/Neville/Friedel/Adam/Parker/etc and Harry hasn't found a striker "better than Pav". Hope that's a just smokescreen.
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11675_6960807,00.html
ffs
I sense sarcasm in this article
and so it begins Spooky, we've seen it all before. Modders looks like he is offering an olive branch if the Sky interview is correct, and it's the old chestnut of wanting CL football.
gutting to say but i do believe he'll be on his way, albeit they will have to pay top dollar.
sorry not sky interview, one they are reporting on.
It's all quite on the Tottenham front at the moment. No word or denial of this ever growing rumour.
Don't believe the hype!!
Modric for 25m? There's no way that will happen, his contract is until 2016. Realistically if we want and could get £50m for Bale, then Modric has to be worth at least £40m. The only thing letting him down is lack of goals, if not he could possibly be worth more.
He's on international duty, questions get asked, answers get slightly edited and you have pure paper talk designed at selling newspapers and these days getting clicks.
If Croatia qualify for the Euro's for next year and he plays well there, what would he be worth to Barca with Xavi getting on in age? Personally I would be more worried about that than Man Utd right now.
what's in our favour is Modric's character, he is not a Berba and is not trying to engineer a move. So if Levy sticks to his word and bats away the offers, we might be ok.
Maybe Modders is being realistic and honest, or maybe I am really hoping that is the case.
Back in 2006, Panorama broadcast an investigation into corruption at FIFA. Even at that time, the rumours of backhanders were old. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/5070224.stm The transcript makes interesting reading.
It's curious that Modric considers Croatians at Spurs as an incentive to stay - particularly as two of the other three look to be leaving. Maybe he doesn't talk to them much - in which case, it shouldn't upset him too much if they left. Still, at least his comment got me pondering the connections between players and how, should one depart, the other/s might follow. So...
'There are dodgy pins here.' Ledley, followed by VdV and Woody.
'There is hair gel here.' Bentley, followed by Bale.
'There are Kyles and Jermaines here.' Kyle, followed by Kyle; and Jermaine, followed by Jermain.
'There are people who get a sudden rush of blood to the head and do crazy things here.' Gomes, followed by Hutton, and possibly BAE.
'There are people with searing pace here.' Lennon, followed by Bale.
'There are people who lack so much pace they look like they're doing tai chi here.' Crouch, followed by Huddlestone.
'There are people not here because they're out on loan here.' Jamie O'Hara, followed by sundry others.
'There are people with cool hair-styles here.' BAE, followed by Khumalo, and possibly Sandro.
'There are athletes here.' Jenas, followed by Sandro.
'There are people who occasionally like a bit of the juice here.' Gio, followed by Ledley.
'There are people surplus to requirements here'. Any one of several, followed by several.
I think we might be reading too much into what Moddle has said in the interview. Can't blame us for doing so because it doesn't read well, but if you're asked questions - what else can you do but be diplomatic for the sake of your own well being.
What annoys me the most is that we could have finished in the top 4 easily! OK, we got to the last 8 and got a good hiding from Madrid. Harry got a nice little jaunt in the CL for his CV, which will set him up nicely for the England job. What next? If we had only bought a decent or even half decent striker in the January window we might be looking forward to another season in the CL. I hate to talk about if's, buts and maybe's but this was so clear to everyone it is ridiculous.
I just saw the Modders interview on Sky Sports and although it is only media hype at the moment i can see it running until the start of the next season just like the Berbatov to Utd saga.
My only wish is that IF we do end up selling him we do it quickly and get a decent replacement in ASAP. Knowing Levy he will play chicken with Sir Al until the very last minute of the transfer window when we see little Modders step out of a Jag and into Old Trafford....
desktop add corluka to people who lack so much pace they look like they're doing tai chi here.
and pienaar to 'There are people with cool hair-styles here' (i think)
what if Gallas say's 'There are gooners here'
Ade?
Oh no! Up until that interview Modric was making all the right noises. Now I'm starting to worry.
Its so easy for a journo to trick a player into giving him quotes.
He asks Modric these 2 questions:
"would you like to be in the CL this year"? answer yes
"is is possible that should Tottenham receive a huge bid for you they might accept"? answer yes it is possible....But of course, if there will be an offer which will be good for Tottenham and for me also, then a transfer is of course possible.
they then use translation errors and past quotes to put together the story they want.
Can't wait for our beloved Chairman to enter the fray and take charge.
I bet he will announce 2 star-striker signings in the next week or so, household names that no-one can argue with or doubt his commitment to make Tottenham great again.
I'm hearing DJ Campbell and Tubbs from Crawley Town.
Modric says:
'But of course, if there will be an offer which will be good for Tottenham and for me also, then a transfer is of course possible.'
Daily Mail translation:
'Come and get me, Fergie! Modric stuns Spurs with plea to Man United boss'
No he fucking didn't you lying cunts!
haha, it's an art form.
They then publish, "Bale desperate for Modric and HR to stay at spurs. Now contemplating own future"
Spurs in crisis as top stars want to leave after CL failure, Top clubs circle with Man City prepared to offer 200m for both players and 1m a week salaries. You couldnt make it up : )
This has happened because Arsenal fans have stopped clicking on Fabrigas articles!
Levy should come out and slap 70m price tags on both players.
@Yida "Levy should come out and slap 70m price tags on both players."...no he shouldn't as that would indicate a willingness to deal.
He should re-state the "going nowhere" stuff and immediately buy the players needed to convince Modric and Bale and others that we are serious contenders for the PL title next season.
If he waits to unload before buying this debate will go on all summer....wait aminute, isn't that what usually happens before the sale happens on the last day, we buy another misfit player like VDV and Levy says "what could I do?" (Big shrug of the shoulders, confirming his heritage).
We will have to agree to disagree, when you slap a huge price tag on a player your basically saying thats our pricing them out of a move.
Arsenal did it with Fabrigas and Barcelona bulked at the 50m asking fee.
Lets be honest Levy / 99% or chairman would take 70m for either player. Everyone has their price. Everyone is willing to deal.
What is this "football" you speak of?
If we sell ANOTHER great player to Man U I'll stop watching football.
Risky putting a price on a head of a player (or manager) nowadays. But also no point in saying not for sale. Levy said that last week! We all know we would sell at the right price for the club.
You either put up or shut up is the non media way of saying it. Problem then is the blue team in Manchester could easily say "alright then" and put their money where there mouth is.
Although it would make our stadium a lot more viable I suppose if we got £120m this summer for two players and the greatest manager in our history.
It's typical tabloid journalism, taking a player's words in his own language and translating it so that becomes a player touting for a move.
To me it looks like he's just saying that if a big offer comes in which Spurs choose to accept, then so be it. He's not out there looking for a move.
We only need to go back 2/3 weeks and read his previous interview where he stated he is loving life at the Lane and has no intention of moving.
To be honest, i trust no one at spurs!! I would not be surprised in we sell any of our best players. Levy cant be trusted, period!!
If this does happen, them, as a Dragon puts it, "I'm out" because i would be sick and tired of building and selling, building and selling, always on the verge but never quite there.
You see, thats why i stand by what i have always said, that top 4 was a "the" priority of the season and whilst all this European Cup shit grabbed you all by the balls, we all took our eye off the biggest prize of all, top 4!! and now we sit and wait and watch the vultures circulating our little club!!
If we get away with it, we have one more season with this squad and thats it, but im afraid we have the Europa Cup to worry about and this will halt our top 4 charge next season.
So in a nut shell guys, whether its this season or next season, our best players will go, whether we like it or not!! I ask the question, will we ever become a "big" club?? Unless Mr. money comes along, probably not!!
Hotspur - email me.
At least Harry has reiterated the 'not for sale' point now.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/13609023.stm
Losing Modric would be like losing a leg. Besides, I got his name on my Investec shirt so I'd be double pissed off...