Luka Modric

[DYC. 7,542]

Well that is what he is imo. He isn't the best player in the World and I personally think we can do better.

Ohw you're serious. No he is certainly not the best player in the world but the best player in the world doesn't even want to play for us (can't afford him too). But he is one the best in the league.

Do better? Really? Hmm you'll have to help me with that. Can't think of a player we could actually sign who's actually better than Modric..

[Henrique 9,133]

I dont know why we are even discussing this...

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Do better? Really? Hmm you'll have to help me with that. Can't think of a player we could actually sign who's actually better than Modric..

Hamsik.. Marin.. Diego.. Dzeko..

[DYC. 7,542]

Hamsik.. Marin.. Diego.. Dzeko..

Dzeko's a striker, we were talkig about midfielders.

Diego hmm. I rated him when he was at Bremen but he hasn't exactly been on fire these last two years, failing at Juve and not doing anything special at Wolfsburg right now. Not even part of the Brazilian national team.

Marin? Seriously? There's no way he's a better player than Modric and he's a winger anyway. You dissapointed me with that one LDN .

Hamsik stil has a lot to prove. I do see him becoming a great player but saying he's better Modric now is simply not true.

I doubt you even follow Napoli, Wolfsburg and Bremen .

[Steve 10,227]

Modric could fit into any starting 11. He has amazing vision when he is on the ball. If we could sign him i would be very very happy. But i just cannot see it happening.

[DYC. 7,542]

Modric could fit into any starting 11. He has amazing vision when he is on the ball. If we could sign him i would be very very happy. But i just cannot see it happening.

Exactly.

[eldo 868]

Dzeko's a striker, we were talkig about midfielders.

Marin? Seriously? There's no way he's a better player than Modric and he's a winger anyway. You dissapointed me with that one LDN .

He is good, really good. His technique is awsome.

[DYC. 7,542]

He is good, really good. His technique is awsome.

Don't get me wrong eldo, i know he's good. Great dribbler and very agile, a real handful. But there's no way he's a better player than Modric (right now), he still has a lot to prove too.

[Kostas 1,468]

I don't buy all the hype. He may be good enough for Tottenham but we need World Class to win the CL.

[eldo 868]

Don't get me wrong eldo, i know he's good. Great dribbler and very agile, a real handful. But there's no way he's a better player than Modric (right now), he still has a lot to prove too.

5 assists and 4 goals this season, 14 assists and 7 goals last season and similar stats at Borussia M'gladbach. I think he is already proving, and he is only 21. Could he be better than Modric? I think so.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Marin? Seriously? There's no way he's a better player than Modric and he's a winger anyway. You dissapointed me with that one LDN .

Don't underestimate Marin. Trust me, he's on his way to becoming great.. I remember saying the same thing about Ozil when he was signed for Bremen, he'd be a superstar.. Now look. If you look at Marin's performance in the Champions League vs Tottenham he was a great source of attack, he has great agility and pace and shows ball control we sometimes look at McEachran in awe. (I used to have similar hope for Aaron Hunt but he doesn't look to be any more attacking)

Don't worry, I didn't just pick these names out of a hat

Hamsik stil has a lot to prove. I do see him becoming a great player but saying he's better Modric now is simply not true.

That's my point though. At the rate Hamsik is improving he's got all the sings of becoming better than Modric (I didn't make that clear, apologies). I think we're better off going for these kinds of players because they're reaching their peaks which look to go beyond Modric's level

I doubt you even follow Napoli, Wolfsburg and Bremen .

No, I do not. But I've got friends who do and they rate such players very highly (who also follow Modric). I've seen various performances too, especially from Hamsik in Serie A.. So I do have some background on these players

Edited December 21, 2010 by LDN Blue

[Badboy 1,526]

I don't buy all the hype. He may be good enough for Tottenham but we need World Class to win the CL.

Yeah i agree with Kostas, if we want to move forward we need to buy players of Shevchenko's ''world class'' calibre !

[DYC. 7,542]

Don't underestimate Marin. Trust me, he's on his way to becoming great.. I remember saying the same thing about Ozil when he was signed for Bremen, he'd be a superstar.. Now look. If you look at Marin's performance in the Champions League vs Tottenham he was a great source of attack, he has great agility and pace and shows ball control we sometimes look at McEachran in awe. (I used to have similar hope for Aaron Hunt but he doesn't look to be any more attacking)

Don't worry, I didn't just pick these names out of a hat

Again, don't get me wrong. I know Marin and it's obvious he's got great potential. I remember watching his last season and one match in particular, against Valencia in the EL. He was great, driving their defence crazy with incredibly quick feet.

But there's so much that happen to a young player (personal problems, injuries, lacking consistency, wrong choices, bad guidance, not having the right mentality etc.) that can mess up his development or him not fulfilling his full potential. One of the main reasons why major clubs don't just buy every player with great potential. Look at the likes of Quaresma, Diego, Robinho, Berbatov, my good friend Cassano, millions of Brazilians who are/were supposed to be ''the new Ronaldo'' and so many more

All have the talent to be great great players but for different reasons never reached the greatness they could've turned out to be.

Marin hasn't proven anything (constantly) at the highest level so it would be wrong to say he is better than someone who has. And again, he's a winger anyway.

And about Özil, everyone who saw him play could see that happening . Still not a star yet though but well on his way.

And about your comment on Hamsik, you're acting as if Modric has reached his peak. He just turned 24, Hamsik is only one year younger than him.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Again, don't get me wrong. I know Marin and it's obvious he's got great potential. I remember watching his last season and one match in particular, against Valencia in the EL. He was great, driving their defence crazy with incredibly quick feet.

But there's so much that happen to a young player (personal problems, injuries, lacking consistency, wrong choices, bad guidance, not having the right mentality etc.) that can mess up his development or him not fulfilling his full potential. One of the main reasons why major clubs don't just buy every player with great potential. Look at the likes of Quaresma, Diego, Robinho, Berbatov, my good friend Cassano, millions of Brazilians who are supposed to be ''the new Ronaldo'' and so many more

All have the talent to be great great players but for different reasons never reached the greatness they could've turned out to be.

Marin hasn't proven anything (constantly) at the highest level so it would be wrong to say he is better than someone who has.

Very good counter comment. You're certainly right about young players losing their way, especially with those chosen examples.

If we take this back on topic then, I'd love it if we signed Modric. He would do well in our squad, he's a great little playmaker and would work well with Lampard and Essien. However this all depends on the price we pay, certainly anything near £30million would be ridiculous for a player of this kind. I'd rather pay that for Van Der Vaart . If we did land Modric for near £25million then I'd call it reasonable(ish).

If we do not land him, then we must look at alternatives. Marin & Hamsik are up there with me at potential targets, but as you've rightly pointed out, it will all depend on their level of maturity and discipline.

[Kostas 1,468]

Yeah i agree with Kostas, if we want to move forward we need to buy players of Shevchenko's ''world class'' calibre !

Shevchenko was a disaster but we can't possibly rule out signings of his calibre, especially with most of our truly world class players being over 30.