PSG star is the Modric replacement Spurs have been longing for

There is nothing worse than when waiting patiently in a long winding queue, only to spy a pesky scoundrel pushing in ahead.

For the many Premier League clubs forming an orderly line at Paris Saint-Germain’s door to enquire about the availability of Yohan Cabaye, that annoyance is exact emotion they’ll be feeling.

Crystal Palace, Arsenal, West Ham and Newcastle are among the top-flight sides interested in landing the midfield outcast, who started just 15 Ligue 1 games for Laurent Blanc’s club last season, but have been shoved further back in the pecking order by Spurs’ line-cutting.

The north Londoners, who seek to find the kind of midfield creativity that has escaped them ever since Luka Modric was on the scene, are reportedly ready to muscle in on any transfer action involving the former Magpies star.

For many, the departure of Modric was the bigger loss to the Lilywhites’ top-four hopes, over and above Gareth Bale’s decision to follow the Croat to Real Madrid the following season.

Nobody at White Hart Lane has really been able to replace the former Chelsea target’s nous in the middle of the pitch, and links to Cabaye will certainly encourage Spurs fans that crave a return to those days.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men, who finished fifth last season and are bound to another campaign in the Europa League, are rated as 13/2 to go one better in the coming season.

Interestingly, it was with Modric in the squad that Spurs last finished in the top four, doing so twice in three years between 2009/10 and 2011/12, albeit with the second of those ending with Chelsea nabbing the Champions League qualification due to their famous win in the competition.

Spurs have a deluge of centre-circle dwellers among their current number, but if reports that the likes of Paulinho, Mousa Dembele, Etienne Capoue and Benjamin Stambouli will all leave this summer are true, then Pochettino will need to spend in that area.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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