Tottenham looking to bring next Modric to the Premier League
Published:Tottenham’s ongoing pursuit of a replacement for White Hart Lane hero Luka Modric took a fresh twist this week amid reports the club have unearthed yet another youngster who is handily being dubbed “the new Modric” by lazy football journalists.
Meet Andrija Balic, the latest exciting youth product to emerge from Hajduk Split, who at just 16-years-old is already being linked with a switch to the English Premier League.
In the kind of move sure to get Greg Dyke and his “keep England English” brigade wringing their hands, reports suggest Spurs sporting director Franco Baldini has already commenced negotiations with the club, keen to tie up a deal for the midfielder.
After all, you may recall that Tottenham were in this very position before, having approached the original “new Modric” Alen Halilovic over a move last year.
But rather than head to North London the 17-year-old opted for a move to sunny Spain with Barcelona and the chance to compete in La Liga and the Champions League from next season.
Not that that has deterred Baldini this time round, with the Italian aiming to attract the new “new Modric” Balic to Tottenham with the promise of Europa League football, the chance to lose heavily to the teams in the top four and, if he is lucky, a League Cup winners’ medal.
But while the promise of the Premier League is tempting enough for the young Balic, his father and, coincidentally his agent, Ivica Balic, is having none of it.
Speaking about the rumours of his son leaving Croatia – a country used as the backdrop for much of the scenery in Game of Thrones – for the UK – a country used as the backdrop for the similarly bleak Last of the Summer Wine – Balic senior remained open minded – sort of.
“We, his family, are no barrier for his transfer abroad, but me and my wife would like to see Andrija stay at Hajduk and develop even more before going somewhere else,” he said.
“Andrija is only 16 years old and right now he is not ready to go abroad.”
He did offer some hope to Tottenham though, suggesting that, if the Split club are keen to cash-in on the youngster and end their financial woes then a deal where a big European club buys the player and loans him back to the Croatian club could be a possibility.
In essence, the move would see Balic doing a ‘Zaha’ and we all know how that ended up for the Manchester United man, don’t we?
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