Chelsea are set on signing Luka Modric from Tottenham but want to get the deal done before the start of the season.
Chelsea travel to the Britannia Stadium to face Stoke on Sunday 14th August and manager Andre Villas-Boas would like Modric to have signed on the dotted line by the time they kick-off in the Potteries. The deadline is an internal one and one that should please Tottenham if they are determined – as they are saying publicly – not to sell their star man.
The Blues have imposed the deadline for two reasons. Firstly, they want any business with English clubs to be dealt with before the start of the campaign to prevent any potential conflicts of interest and the prospect of injury. Crucially, however, they believe that Tottenham are actually happy to sell in order to use the windfall to reinvest in other areas of the squad – namely the their forward line – with their public instransigence being more of a face-saving exercise for their fans than anything else.
Spurs have already rejected two bids from their London rivals for the Croatia international – £22m and £27m respectively – but are bracing themselves for a final improved bid of £30m over the weekend. Chelsea are confident of getting the deal done quickly as they will not request to pay by installments and are happy that Modric will accept the personal terms that will be on offer as they will raise his basic £40,000 a week wage twofold.
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