Spurs not backing down over Modric

Tottenham remain firm in their refusal to sell Luka Modric despite his claims he had an agreement with chairman Daniel Levy to leave the club.

The playmaker said he had a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with Levy regarding a move away from White Hart Lane, despite his signing a six-year contract with the London club a year ago.

Spurs have rejected a 22-million-pound bid from Chelsea for the 25-year-old and Modric claimed that Levy has threatened to make him sit in the stands if he became disruptive over the club’s refusal to sell him.

“I reminded the chairman of our gentleman’s agreement when we were in Dubrovnik last summer and I agreed a contract extension,” Modric told Croatian newspaper Sportske Novosti.

“At that time, I had an open chat with Levy – that if a bigger club came in with a concrete offer – we would consider it and agree the best solution for all concerned.”

“Now Levy doesn’t want to talk to me and said there is no possibility I can leave Spurs.”

Senior Tottenham sources are adamant no such deal was in place.

Chelsea are expected to return with an improved offer this week as their need for a central midfielder increased when Michael Essien suffered a suspected knee ligament injury in training last week.

Despite Levy wanting to hold onto the Croatian, manager Harry Redknapp is believed to have softened his stance on the potential sale of Modric because of the fear of having a disruptive influence in the dressing room.

“As far as Harry is concerned they will only sell Modric if they get an offer in that is big enough and it would take something in excess of 35 million pounds to get things moving,” a Tottenham source told Goal.com.

“Daniel Levy has said Modric is going nowhere but Harry has been around the block enough times to appreciate how difficult it is to keep an unhappy player but he is also wise enough to use the money smartly to help the club kick on without him.”