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As linked in the Hoddle of Coffee earlier this morning (go back to the home page and check it out, if you're new here), Andre Villas-Boas and the rest of the folks in charge at Tottenham Hotspur are going to do their best to determine Luka Modric's future at the club when they return from their U.S. tour. Every outlet that has reported on this story has done their best to make it sound like there's a very complex conversation that needs to take place, and that things need to be sorted out between all parties.
That simply isn't the case, as everyone who follows Tottenham Hotspur should know. If Real Madrid or any other club meets Daniel Levy's valuation of Modric, he'll be sold. If no one meets Levy's valuation, he won't be sold and Villas-Boas will want to play him in his first team. Modric won't be very happy about this. He'll either get on with it eventually or refuse to play, for which he'll be fined lots of money.
There's no decision to make. Levy made the decision a while ago. Modric's value is £40m, and unless someone gets close to that, Modric isn't going anywhere. Levy might be willing to negotiate some sort of package that pays Tottenham considerably less than that up front, but has escalators up to £40m, but someone is going to have to put together a deal that comes close to that number to get Levy to sell.
It seems like Florentino Perez doesn't want to meet that number, though he could just be driving a hard bargain. If Kaka is sold and Nuri Sahin is loaned out, he might be willing to up his bid again. If Levy feels like Perez is negotiating in good faith and legitimately trying to come to a deal that's mutually beneficial for both parties, Levy might be willing to talk about something that's less than a big fat check for £40m up front.
I believe that Modric will be sold and that Real Madrid will be the club he goes to. I think Levy's going to get a better offer than the one Madrid put on the table last, but I don't think he's going to get £40m. However, there is a very distinct possibility that both Levy and Perez are too stubborn to come to a deal, and that will probably lead us into a situation much like last season, where Modric sits out the first two games of the Premier League season, then re-joins the team in September.
This time around, he'll be less understanding and more pissed off about it, especially considering that the team vying for his services is offering more than Chelsea did last season, and that they are not one of Tottenham's rivals in any competition at this point in time. Fan backlash against him will be stronger than it was last season, and he'll probably take longer to get back into form and start playing like a world class player.
We're going to hear more actual words from Villas-Boas on this issue shortly. We're almost certainly going to hear words from Modric's representitives. We are absolutely, without a doubt going to hear more drivel from the rags we've come to love. But as July turns into August, the preseason draws to an end and transfer bids are being rejected, this is beginning to feel a lot like last summer.
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