Tottenham Hotspur's Battle to Keep Luka Modric at White Hart Lane

It is set to be the longest-running transfer battle of the summer and one Tottenham Hotspur, Daniel Levy and Harry Redknapp cannot afford to lose out on. Quite simply, Luka Modric is Tottenham’s best player and if Spurs dare decide to entertain offers, then it will be the biggest mistake the club has made in years. But it looks as if Levy will stand firm in the face of any approaches for the Croatian, meaning it is now down to the player to reassure the club and the fans he will not be leaving.

After tasting Champions League football last season, Modric will be keen to test himself against Europe’s elite once again, but a combination of Tottenham’s failure in the January transfer market and poor form against lesser sides meant Redknapp’s team failed to qualify for the competition. If Modric were to engineer a move, then he would surely use this as his excuse.

There has been speculation though that wages may play some part in the former Dinamo Zagreb man moving. According to the press, he is earning somewhere in the region of £50,000-a-week, and with Tottenham’s strict salary structure, Modric could only push for an extra £30,000 a week by signing a new contract. Money, though, isn't an issue for the likes of City and Chelsea with the owners willing to treble his wages, yet what will be the obstacle for these clubs will be Tottenham’s stance.

At the end of last season Tottenham Chairman Daniel Levy assured Spurs fans "that we have no reason to sell, and every intention of retaining, our key players." The sales of Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov still scar fans and Levy knows that he must not make the same mistake again.

Chelsea’s offer of £22 million was branded "ridiculous" by Redknapp, claiming that some "people being sold for £20 million are not fit to lace Luka’s boots" (hint hint Jordan Henderson). In a market where the likes of Carroll are being sold for more than David Villa, the question has to be raised: how much is Modric worth?

Whatever the midfielder’s value, the speculation will surround him throughout the summer transfer window as this type of story is every newspaper’s dream. Be it broadsheet or tabloid, Modric’s name has never filled so many column inches and it appears the industry themselves are trying to engineer a move for the 25 year-old. Therefore, the club finds itself in a no-win situation because even if they were to make a big-money signing it will be attributed to the sale of Modric.

The ball is firmly in Tottenham’s court. They have the player tied to a long contract, they have stable finances and they have a chance to show Modric they can compete with his ambitions. But it is this chance that Spurs fans are worried about after the farcical transfer window that was January 2011. If players of the Didier Drogba or Radamel Falcao’s calibre are signed, then a message of intent will be sent to Modric.

There is no doubt Levy will be pushed hard by Chelsea’s games, City’s riches and United’s force, but there now appears to be a backbone to a man who so easily buckled in 2008 that will mean Modric will remain at White Hart Lane come September 1.