FEELING SO BLUE?
Modric is off — now pressure is on chief Levy
APPEARING relaxed and informed last week, Andre VillasBoas discussed Tottenham’s pursuit of Willian and Leandro Damiao before his side’s Barclays Premier League match against We s t Bromwich Albion.
That was until the subject of Tim Sherwood’s trip to Malaga to watch their Champions League qualifier the previous evening against Panathinaikos was raised.
Sherwood, in his new executive role working closely with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, had flown to the Estadio La Rosaleda to watch Malaga’s 20- year- old attacking midfielder Isco.
Villas-Boas, back in charge of a top Premier League team, was oblivious to it. Tottenham want the young Spanish star, who began his career at Valencia, because he can leave this week for a cut-price fee as part of Malaga’s huge restructuring programme.
Levy lives for the final week of the transfer window, in his element as he deals directly with chief executives, chairmen, agents and other assorted middle-men involved with multi-million pound deals.
After 11 years as chairman at White Hart Lane, Levy has finally taken full control of transfer policy. He is taking responsibility for improving on last season’s fourthplace league finish, in charge of taking Tottenham to the next level.
After finalising the terms of Luka Modric’s £27million move to Real Madrid yesterday, he has four days to deliver top-class replacements.
The delay in that deal was to finalise a strategic alliance with Real. Spurs’ announcement of this partnership, which will involve the clubs ‘working together in respect of players, coaching, best practices and commercial relationships’, attracted the attention — and mirth — of Gary Neville.
He tweeted: ‘RM — I want Modric. Spurs — yes ok. Spurs — I want Ozil. RM — No. Spurs — Ok then.’
There is a serious nature to the former England star’s observation, particularly after Tottenham missed the chance to sign Nuri Sahin, 23, on loan from Jose Mourinho’s side only last week.
Real did not want Sahin, whose career at the Bernabeu has stalled through injury, to sign for another Champions League team. He could have joined Spurs. Instead, Mourinho encouraged the Modriclike midfielder to go and play for Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool.
Levy’s strategy is based on recruiting young players and selling them at the top of the market. Getting £27m for Modric is an exceptional piece of business but the chairman is under pressure from fans to invest it in quality this week.
It is a remarkable return for a player who was signed from Dinamo Zagreb for £16.5m in July 2008 and has scored just 17 goals in 160 appearances.
But the cost of Modric’s move is being felt on the ground, as he was left out of the Tottenham team beaten by Newcastle on the opening day of the season and of Saturday’s 1-1 draw with West Brom.
There are echoes of last season’s false start under Harry Redknapp, when Modric was left out of the team to face Manchester United and City because he was agitating for a move to Chelsea. Arguably, their failure to pick up a point in either of those games during that turbulent start cost them third place and guaranteed Champions League football this season.
When Levy failed to reach an agreement with Chelsea on August 31 last year, Modric returned to the Spurs team for the 2-0 win at Wolves a few days after the transfer window closed.
Levy has always waited until perilously close to the deadline before prising a player from a rival club or holding out for a big price before agreeing to sell a star name.
This is life at White Hart Lane in the days before the deadline, a whirlwind of activity and anxiety in the corridors of power. Despite the sale of Modric, other players are vulnerable as Levy considers his options before Saturday’s home game against Norwich.
Rafael van der Vaart, a substitute for the defeat at Newcastle and replaced by Emmanuel Adebayor on Saturday, can leave for the right price. Michael Dawson, Tottenham’s player of the year in 2010 and called up as a replacement for Rio Ferdinand at the World Cup that summer, can also go.
The central defender, who spent a large part of last season out with an ankle injury, has been offered £60,000 a week by Queens Park Rangers chairman Tony Fernandes, but is aware the salary for top players at Loftus Road is nearer £75,000. Dawson is determined to hold out, or wait for Stoke and Sunderland to f i rm up their interest before making a decision.
Villas-Boas began the season with Jermain Defoe as hi s only recognised striker, but the England man is still not certain he will still be at Tottenham on Friday night.
Since the season began they have added Adebayor after finally agreeing a deal with Manchester City, but Spurs are still short. Manchester United began the season with five strikers and champions City have four; Arsenal, arguably, have six. Villas- Boas has promoted young Harry Kane, 19, to the firstteam squad, but he is inexperienced at this level and has spent the past two seasons out on loan.
Levy’s squad is unbalanced, and the chairman’s business acumen and his ability to target talented players are about to be tested again.
As ever, it will all be left until the last minute.