Luka Modric Still on Inter Milan Radar for January Move

Rumours linking Inter Milan with Real Madrid's Luka Modric refuse to go away, with the latest reports from Italy indicating the Nerazzurri could try again for the midfielder in January or next summer if he doesn't sign a new contract.

Corriere dello Sport (h/t Calciomercato's Kaustubh Pandey) reported Inter will move on if he does sign a new deal, with his current contract set to expire in 2020.

The Italian outlet maintains the Croat was keen on Inter during the summer and held talks with the club, even though Modric has repeatedly denied those reports. Per AS, he took to Instagram to call the speculation "the biggest pile of nonsense in history."

Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio has also ruled out a January move, per Calciomercato.com, but that isn't stopping the gossip.

Modric helped Real to their third straight UEFA Champions League title last season and followed that up with an outstanding World Cup run, guiding Croatia to the final.

He's the favourite to win this year's Ballon d'Or after already winning the Best Men's Player award and has the backing of several colleagues, including Chelsea's Eden Hazard:

Inter have a strong group of Croatia internationals that would welcome Modric, as Ivan Perisic, Marcelo Brozovic and Sime Vrsaljko have all played with the former Tottenham Hotspur man. The club underlined its ambition with transfers of Radja Nainggolan and Stefan de Vrij in the summer.

But the Nerazzurri would present a significant step down for the 33-year-old, and after losing Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo, Los Blancos won't be too keen on selling. At the very least, they'll want more than fair value for their star midfielder, and Inter don't appear to have the budget to spend big money on an ageing veteran.

With his contract not running out until 2020, Real hold all the cards. Even if they can't get him to sign a new deal, the European champions are unlikely to sanction a sale in January unless Inter meet their valuation.