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Modric & Baines

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Good morning.

That old devil called Luka Modric again and the first out of the traps are The Mirror with a cobbled together piece that wants deconstructing and putting back together in a more logical order. Let’s kick off with the valuation of the pocket sized Croatian.

£22m they say. Now before the first of you screams the place down with er… screams of, ‘£40m and not a penny less!’ take a moment and consider two things. Firstly the valuation of fans is rarely in tune with that of football clubs. And by that I refer equally to under-valuations as well as the over estimates.

Secondly, Levy & Co. kept an uncompromisingly straight bat when it came to Modders. The boy has a contract with us with what, four years or whatever on it to run. There’s no buy out clause and there’s no gentlemen’s agreement. 

Next to be factored in are the purchases made by the the supposed vultures themselves. Manchester United have just bought Shinji Kagawa. This is undoubtedly a player Slur Alex has bought to operate in a space that Modders could occupy.

“He’s simply a great footballer his movement is insane. I wouldn’t like to play against him.” Mats Hummels

“Kagawa can keep the ball in the smallest of spaces and is a quick decision-maker” Ryo Miyaichi

The most real threat is potentially from Chelsea. The Blue Racists are shopping with some gusto buying gifts galore for their new manager; but arguably have yet to buy a player that so obviously duplicates Modric.

And so to Leighton Baines. We should buy him. The fact that Slur Alex is whinging about the price is neither here nor there. United talk a big transfers but the reality is they are under enormous financial constraints. £15m is probably ‘toppy’ but we have a card up our sleeve here.

The Pienaar deal stank and indeed still stinks to high heaven. We bought him and yet it was painfully evident not only we didn’t know what to do with him, but his heart belonged to Goodison.

The wiseacres will chip in here, ‘but we bought him to make a quick buck on!’ But this is clearly rubbish. From who? Only Everton and nobody else in the whole wide world want him …and they’re skint members.

I don’t know the truth of why this all happened but what I do know is we have an excellent bargaining chip in relation to Baines.

Why Baines? Well, he’s very good at playing football would be the first box I’d check and second of all is the choice he would give us. Benny divides opinion and this is born quite rightly out of frustration. He’s the coolest left back in the west, but he’s not routinely the greatest. 

Next season will be a tough campaign. If Arry manages to survive last season then it’s likely he’ll only be offered a contract of token length.  Hence the out and out punt taken by a couple of papers yesterday in relation to this.

Champions League qualification will therefore be non negotiable despite what blabberchops has to say on the matter. There too will be the Europa and dare I even suggest it, domestic pots and pans to chase.

In conclusion, it will be fascinating to see what Levy & Co do upon their return to business next week. I have a suspicion they won’t be mucking about.

You gotta love a raunchy president.

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86 comments

  • Nolanh says:

    Man U cannot afford modric… He will not leave for less than 35million.. Only chelsea, city and PSG will pay that for him.. My moneys on man city as a barry replacement…

    There is no doubt mod will got his summer and hopefully the euros will enable us to identify who to replace him as I currently have no idea.. Do want to see Vertonghen, Afellay and Huntelaar come in.. Maybe offer Owen a pay as you play deal too…

  • Rick says:

    We need to keep Luka but if other teams bids are to be taken seriously then they have to bid over 40m. We said no to 40m and nothing has changed. Sod off United. Stick to your guns Spurs

  • Shady says:

    Kagawa and Modric don’t play in the same positions, totally different players, that said if Utd want him they’ll have to offer near to £30m as Levy will not accept £22m

    And Baines is great and one of the best LB’s in the league but will surely command a hefty fee, look how many goals he contributes for Everton!

    Plus Vertonghen can cover LB anyway.

  • Gus says:

    HH speaks the truth! Levy should play Modders the same way as he did this year; either he rots on the bench for 4 years, but likely the pro he is will get on with the job. Get Baines, nail down Vertonghen and get on with finding a striker or two and a winger to compete with Lennon. These pieces will help us compete next season COYS

  • Big Chud says:

    Not at the silly money being talked about. Baines is good, and would provide good squad rotation for A&E.

    Problem being that he’s not a superior improvement to the tune of millioins of pounds, and secondly, old sandbag chops doesn’t have the phrase “squad rotation” in his copy of ‘Football Management for Dummies’.

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