Soccer: Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp admits Luka Modric is "confused" about his future but the Englishman is determined to hang on to his star midfielder.
That task has been made easier by the Croation's agent insisting he will not hand in a transfer request after talks with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy on Wednesday.
Levy insisted last night that Modric, who is 12 months into a six-year contract, would not be leaving this summer after holding showdown talks with the wantaway Croatian at White Hart Lane.
Modric had made it clear he wanted to swap Tottenham for Chelsea, who had a €25 million bid for the player rejected three weeks ago, but Levy was adamant the 25-year-old is not for sale at any price.
This morning, it appeared his message was received loud and clear when Modric's representative Nikky Vuksan said: "I don't think he'll hand in a transfer request. He will honour his contract.
"He wants to play Champions League and win trophies. The only way we can resolve this is to sit down and talk. Luka will report today for training and will do his best, as always."
"I have never been in a situation before where a player has had to fight a club and it's not something we want to do.
"The only official offer so far is from Chelsea and we haven't talked to any clubs. It's no surprise that there is interest in Luka though, because he is a top, top player."
Redknapp came face to face with Modric this morning at the club's training base for the first time since the former Dynamo Zagreb man publicly declared his desire to move.
"He's walked in and is happy, but the kid's a bit confused at the moment. Other teams want him but we want him here and I want to keep him," Redknapp told Sky Sports News. "He loves playing here. It's a difficult situation for him and I understand where he's coming from. We can't kid ourselves.
"He signed a contract here, we love him here and want him here. We don't want to sell our best players. He's a special player for us. We want him here and need him here. "
Modric scored seven goals in the last two years for Tottenham, but his creativity and battling qualities in the middle of the park mean he is arguably the most important player in Redknapp's squad.
Spurs' failure to finish in the top four last year means Redknapp cannot offer Modric the Champions League football that Chelsea, or the other team reportedly interested in him - Manchester United - can.
Redknapp thinks the key to keeping Modric at White Hart Lane could be to persuade him the club are serious contenders for silverware by adding a couple of big name signings over the summer.
The manager has so far only been able to add veteran goalkeeper Brad Friedel to the ranks, but he has also been linked with a number of big-name players on the continent such as Diego Forlan and Giuseppe Rossi.
"We need to add to him (Modric)," Redknapp added. "I've had a chat with Daniel Levy and we're looking to improve - we obviously need to. But it's not easy. Daniel has always spent money here and he'll do it again this year."
Any pursuit of new signings may have to wait until Redknapp shifts some of the dead wood in his squad on this summer.
Republic of Ireland captain Robbie Keane and midfielder David Bentley are both back in training this week after failing to secure permanent deals at the clubs they were on loan with last season.
They are just two of up to six Spurs players who Redknapp wants to move on before the season starts.
"We have to make way with one or two going first," Redknapp said. "We are overloaded in one or two areas and if we can do that we will bring one or two in."
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