Two of the biggest clubs in English football will share the same dilemma come the end of the current Premier league season. Arsenal and Manchester United are both in need of a dependable goalkeeper to consolidate the nucleus of their defensive set up. So the question I am posing is should the two clubs be looking to flex their muscles in the summer to acquire a stopper?

Since the league began back in 1992 Manchester United have spent the majority of those years with a world class goalkeeper between the sticks. I am of course referring to Peter Schmeichel and the soon to be retired Edwin van der Sar. Without these two men the Premier League honours list may not include United’s name a staggering eleven times. Until 2003 when David Seaman’s playing career with the Gunners ended, Arsenal were blessed with their own excellent shot stopper. Seaman like Schmeichel and van der Sar can be considered in the category for the greatest goalkeeper to grace the Premiership.

Before van der Sar’s arrival in Manchester Sir Alex Ferguson initially faltered in his quest to find a successor for the Great Dane. Fergie’s search for a new goalkeeper was laden with mediocrity. The likes of Mark Bosnich, Massimo Taibi, Fabian Barthez, Roy Carroll and Tim Howard all failed to fill the gaping hole left by Schmeichel. This enhances the opinion that spending big on a top ‘keeper is the answer for United. Obviously there are no guarantees in football, so buying a big name ‘keeper could just as easily backfire!

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Arsenal replaced David Seaman with German International Jens Lehmann back in 2003. Lehmann’s stint with the Gunners was a successful one as he picked up a number of trophies and was a member of the iconic Invincibles squad. More recently Manuel Almunia, Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny have all been suspect in the sticks for the side from North London, which supports the notion that they do need to invest in a recognised top quality ‘keeper, especially with their rivals boasting fine goalkeepers. I would suggest that Manchester United in particular focus their attention on ensuring they don’t make the same mistakes of the past.

United have been heavily linked with an 18 million pound bid for Atletico Madrid youngster David De Gea, but is his lack of experience too much of a risk to take? One goalkeeper who is proven on the world stage is Gianluigi Buffon, and the most expensive goalkeeper in world football is rumoured be up for grabs in the summer. I think capturing a player of this magnitude would go a long way towards pleasing the fans at either club. It would also dispel any fears about the goalkeeping dilemma among the supporters. To prize Buffon away from Turin would take a hefty sum of money, and with Arsene Wenger’s philosophy of living within his means, it may not be an option for him. I believe Wenger made the mistake of not signing Shay Given when the Irishman indicated he wanted to leave Newcastle in 2009. Given who is currently back up to Joe Hart at Manchester City would be an ideal signing, although, again it will result in spending big to convince Roberto Mancini to sell him to a rival.

United do currently possess goalkeepers Anders Lindegaard and Tomasz Kuszczak, but whether either is capable of holding down the number one spot at the Theatre of Dreams is debatable. This raises another point – should Ben Foster have been retained by United? Whether or not Arsenal fans believe the three goalkeepers they currently hold within their armoury will suffice for next season is down to the individual. I personally believe all good teams start from the back and Arsenal need a consistent goalkeeper, Shay Given would be my choice with Szczesny as an ample back up. United have to replace van der Sar with a big name and established goalkeeper, Pepe Reina would be ideal, and the Spaniard has refused to clarify his future this season….. A goalkeeper of quality is going to come with a large price tag but in answer to the question in hand I think it’s something that needs to be implemented by both clubs.

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Let me know what goalkeepers Fergie and Arsene should be on the lookout for on Twitter

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Borussia Dortmund’s title push takes them to Hamburg, while chasers Bayer Leverkusen host strugglers St Pauli in the weekend’s Bundesliga action.With just six matches remaining and a seven-point lead atop the league, Juergen Klopp’s Dortmund side are raging favourites to claim their seventh German title.

They avoided a scare in the title run-in after coming from behind to defeat fourth-placed Hannover 4-1 on Saturday and will fancy their chances against a Hamburg side who have won just one of their last five matches.

But as he has been all season, Klopp remains reserved and wary of Leverkusen, who are unbeaten in seven Bundesliga matches, winning six of them.

“We have to pocket a lot more points if you want to stay at the top,” Klopp told German magazine Kicker.

“Bayer can win their last six games and I even see them beating Bayern Munich next weekend, because, judging by the current state of things, they are better than Bayern.”

“For me nothing has changed (after the Hanover win), I am only interested in what happens at the end (of the season).”

Klopp believes Leverkusen are “98.6 percent likely to beat St Pauli” when the two sides collide at the Bay Arena on Sunday.

The visitors will miss Fin Bartels and Jan Kalla through suspension after the pair both were sent off in their 2-0 loss to Schalke on Friday, making the task for Holger Stanislawski’s side even more difficult.

Bayern Munich, Leverkusen’s rivals for the second spot in the league which would guarantee UEFA Champions League participation, travel to sixth-placed Nuremberg on Saturday aiming to keep the pressure on Bayer, who are seven points ahead of them in second.

Another side in form, Schalke, host Wolfsburg just days after their Champions League heroics at the San Siro.

The 10th placed side defeated Inter Milan 5-2 in Italy on Tuesday, almost assuring themselves of a spot in the semi-finals, and now come up against their former manager Felix Magath, who was sacked just three weeks ago, in this intriguing fixture.

Other highlights of the weekend see Eintracht Frankfurt host Werder Bremen on Friday night, while fourth plays fifth when Hannover host Mainz.

Freiburg and Hoffenheim are separated by a point and meet on Saturday, while the late fixture on the same day sees Stuttgart meet Kaiserslautern in a battle of two struggling sides.

Bottom-side Borussia Monchengladbach need to beat Cologne at home on Sunday to have any chance of avoiding relegation.

Lyon full back Aly Cissokho has put the Premiership big boys on alert by signifying his intent to play in the Premier League. (Daily Mail)

The former Porto man cost Lyon 15 million euros when he signed for the French giants back in 2009. The energetic Frenchman who currently has one International cap to his name has made no secret of his desire to test himself in the Premiership.

Recent quotes from Cissokho in the Daily Mail express his aspiration for a ‘dream move’ to England, “I think this is a league that suits me. It is a league where you can show power and get forward. Whether it is clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal, Man City, now Liverpool or Chelsea, they are clubs you dream about.”

Cissokho’s comments may be of interest to Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish in particular, who is reportedly on the look out for a left back after continued speculation linking Joes Enrique to the club.

While the 23 year old would love a move to the Premiership he is just as content at his current club Lyon, “I am happy to be at Lyon, I am at the best club in France, and everyone gives a lot to me here.”

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Ajax came from a goal down to beat Heerenveen 2-1 on Sunday, sending the Eredivisie title race down to the final round of the season.Visitors Ajax trailed through Mika Vayrynen’s opening goal 19 minutes into the match at the Abe Lenstra Stadion.

They were level a minute later courtesy of a strike from Serbia forward Miralem Sulejmani, before Danish youngster Christian Eriksen put Ajax 2-1 ahead just a minute into the second half.

The win keeps Ajax one point behind league leaders and defending champions Twente, who they play in the final league match of the season in two weeks time.

A draw away from home will be enough for Twente to retain the title, while Ajax must win at the Amsterdam Arena to collect their first championship since 2004.

The two teams also meet in the Dutch Cup final next Sunday.

Twente retained their lead at the top with a 4-0 win at home to already-relegated Willem II.

Luuk de Jong opened the scoring for Twente six minutes before the break at De Grolsch Veste.

Douglas Franco made it 2-0 five minutes into the second half, before a Dragan Jelic own-goal and Theo Janssen’s penalty completed the scoring for the hosts.

PSV Eindhoven are out of title contention despite winning 2-1 at home to Vitesse Arnhem.

Marcus Berg and Marcelo Antonio Guedes Filho scored in the first and second half respectively for PSV at the Philips Stadion, with Jordi Lopez pulling one back for the visitors.

The defeat leaves Vitesse 14th, clear of the relegation playoff places on goal difference only.

Belgian striker Bjorn Vleminckx bagged four goals as NEC Nijmegen hammered Roda JC 5-0.

AZ Alkmaar were also big winners, with Kolbeinn Sigthorsson and Graziano Pelle both scoring doubles in a 5-1 win against De Graafschap.

The heavy defeat leaves De Graafschap in 15th, the final relegation playoff place.

They must beat VVV Venlo on the final day of the season while hoping Vitesse lose or draw if they are to guarantee survival.

VVV – already certain to finish in the relegation playoff places – defeated Feyenoord 3-2, while Heracles came from behind to beat NAC Breda 2-1.

Excelsior won 3-1 at home to Utrecht, but remain three points from safety.

With an inferior goal difference to the teams above them, they would need a miracle on the last day of the season to avoid the relegation playoffs.

Inter Milan boss Leonardo insists his team have had a positive season despite surrendering the Serie A title and their Champions League crown.Having won the treble last season under Jose Mourinho, Inter can only retain the Coppa Italia this campaign, with Palermo awaiting them in the final on May 29.

Inter’s late-season form has markedly improved, but their coach said a ‘damned’ four-day period in which his side effectively lost both the Serie A title and their European crown had cost them dearly.

“There’s still three more games, two in the league and the Cup final. I know the numbers, no other team has won as many points (in the same period). With all that went on, including our ‘damned week’, it’s been a positive season,” said former AC Milan manager Leonardo, who replaced Rafa Benitez at the helm in December.

“No other team has gained so many points since January 6.”

“A little bit of disappointment remains, of course, because we all wanted to win the Scudetto this season and we’ve come very near.”

“It’s also true that thinking about what the team’s been through and what they have done – finishing this season after a World Cup, a Supercoppa Italiana, being in the Coppa Italia final and second in the championship – in the end, it means it has been a good season.”

Inter travel to third-placed Napoli on Sunday knowing a draw will wrap up second spot on the table with one game remaining, and Leonardo said he was determined to finish off the season on a high note.

“Well, our aim is always is to win any game we play, so it’s important to remain focused and play at our top-level,” he said.

“We still have to play a final and two games in the Italian league and we want to continue with the results we’ve gained up to now.”

“The same applies for the level of play, or if possible, we should improve it. We’ll be facing the third team in the table, so they are a very big team.”

Leonardo’s side tackles an opponent with its own ambitions.

Napoli need only a point to ensure a top-three finish and a place in the Champions League group stages next season.

It would be the first time the club had qualified for this competition since the old European Cup changed format in 1992/93.

“It will be a historic event because Napoli hasn’t been in the Champions League for 21 years, since Maradona’s era,” manager Walter Mazzarri said.

“It’s something extraordinary, please don’t forget this. Fourth place already means the Champions League qualification, but if all together we manage to finish the season in third place it will be a historic event for Italian football.”

“I’m afraid of Inter anyway because they are a great team. As I’ve always done, I’ll try to think only at my team, to prepare a team that won’t suffer too much when the opponents have the ball and to try to develop our play.”

Mazzarri said opposite number Leonardo was ‘the right person’ for Inter Milan, while he also shed light on his own future at Napoli: “At the end of the season, we will meet in a calm way and we will talk about the future, because I’m an understanding person and I’ve always said that and so it will be like that,” he said.

Whether Paul Scholes plays his last game for Manchester United in Saturday’s Wembley showpiece remains to be seen, but it will be a grave shame if it is the last time we see him of the ‘Ginger Prince’ at the top of level of the English game. Scholes is arguably the greatest midfielder of his generation in England and one who has been treated extremely poorly by his country.

It is an absolute travesty the way the national team wasted Scholes’ talents. Only in England would we put our most talented ball playing midfielder on the left wing, largely down to the crazy belief that Gerrard and Lampard would provide the better midfield axis. Sven Goran Eriksson has a lot to answer for in my opinion and you can fully understand why Scholes felt enough was enough and brought an end to his International career. Zinedine Zidane called him the ‘complete footballer’ and one he wished he had the opportunity to play alongside, yet our national manager felt Lampard was the better option. In truth it is an utter disgrace and one of the underlying factors behind England’s great failings in the last few tournaments.

One of the other likeable features of Scholes is that even in this modern era there is no ego or arrogance about him. Unlike some of his fellow United team mates he doesn’t court the media, doesn’t seek to be controversial and is simply the consummate professional in an era where there is very few. Scholes is arguably a managerial dream and I wonder how many times he has felt the Fergie hairdryer, if he has at all? He possesses an incredible will to win and according to Nani the Ginger Prince certainly doesn’t hold back, even in the 5 & 7 a sides.

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It is this 100% attitude that defines him as the player he is and why it will be incredibly sad to see him hang up his boots, if he does so after Saturday’s showpiece. I certainly can’t think of a better English footballer in the last 15 years – it is just a shame that he was continually let down by the very people who needed him the most.

It’s a debate that’s seemingly raged since Rome 2009, when United’s midfield was picked apart by Barca’s merciless possession football, a situation sadly repeated at Wembley just over a week ago.

Many have argued that United’s midfield is uninspiring, pedestrian, not creative enough, the worst of the top five.

The retirement of Paul Scholes has thrown United’s central midfield issues into even sharper relief, with many believing that a creative central midfielder is a must, or United will be left behind big spenders Chelsea and Manchester City.

Amongst the United faithful (certainly on Twitter) the two names most mentioned are Dutch World Cup finalist and Inter Milan treble winner Wesley Sneijder and Croatian schemer Luka Modric . Here I will explain why, in my humble opinion, neither is the answer to United’s midfield issues and why a creative midfielder is, in fact, not needed at all.

Sneijd to the left, Sneijd to the right

Wesley Sneijder. World class. The two phrases seem to go hand in hand. When people are asked about attacking midfielders, clever players, schemers, men to unlock defences, they invariably always come back to Sneijder. The little man with the big shot, the feather light touch and the intricate control. However, there are several problems that I have with Sneijder.

The first problem is that, for a creative midfielder, Sneijder’s stats in Serie A last season were far from impressive; only four goals and five assists in his 22 league games.

While he is without a doubt a top-class attacking midfielder, there is another issue that for me is where the main problem lies; how would Sneijder fit into United’s tactics and formation? As a player, Sneijder has been most effective throughout his career playing in systems in which two defensive midfielders (Cambiasso and Zanetti for Inter, Van Bommel and De Jong for Holland) handle defensive duties, enabling Sneijder to merely hold his position in the final third behind a lone striker.

At United, Sir Alex has never utilised a system with two defensive midfielders and, towards the end of last season, often played a 4-4-1-1 formation, with Rooney operating behind Hernandez as a classic number 10, a position in which Sneijder would be most effective. To sign Sneijder would almost inevitably mean breaking up the Rooney -Hernandez partnership and moving Rooney from his best position just off the front man.

The way to solve this, many would argue, would be to play Sneijder in a two-man midfield. I would reply by saying that Sneijder simply cannot play in a two-man central midfield. This was one of the main reasons for his acrimonious exit from Real Madrid; they played him in a two-man central midfield and found themselves over-run in central areas time and time again.

Whilst the signing of Sneijder would definitely excite me, I struggle to see how he could fit in with United’s tactics and formation.

Mod is not the man

So what of Modric? The argument’s are familiar, the cry tried and tested. “We need Modric, he’ll solve our problems” is the phrase most commonly heard. There is little doubt that, despite Gareth Bale scooping the individual honours, Modric was the star of Tottenham’s season and is likened by many to Paul Scholes, seen as the natural replacement to the Ginger Prince.

While Modric’s pass success rate is superb, his rate of goals and assists is anything but. Last season Modric finished 82nd in the assists list for the Premier League with 3 behind players such as Matthew Taylor, Ian Evatt (a central defender), Elliot Grandin, Jason Roberts, Jose Enrique and even Thomas Hitzlsperger, a player who did not play a league game for bottom of the table West Ham until February. In terms of goals scored Modric finished 102nd, behind players such as Liam Ridgewell, Chris Samba, Alex Song and Youssouf Mulumbu. The stats can sometimes be deceiving, but they simply are not that impressive.

While Modric would be an impressive signing, and one which would certainly excite me, the main argument that I would put forward against Modric is that United simply don’t need a creative midfielder.

A Roma Raid

I would argue that, rather than a creative midfielder, what United are missing is a destroyer; a destructive, aggressive central midfielder to add a bit of anger, a bit of bite to our midfield. We haven’t had a fiery central midfielder, a real leader who will get his team-mates fired up and remind them of any errors they may make since Roy Keane left Old Trafford. Someone good in a midfield battle, someone willing to fight for possession, someone willing to stand his ground and someone, quite simply, who is a ball winner.

We lack both a real leader and a true defensive midfielder (a role into which Michael Carrick was forced by Owen Hargreaves persistent injuries), and both can be found in one man; Roma vice-captain Daniele De Rossi. A World Cup winner with massive experience of playing at the top level both in Serie A and the Champions League, De Rossi is a player who takes no prisoners and will not shirk from a midfield battle. While he is best known as a defensive midfielder, he can also play in a box-to-box role and, in addition to his qualities as a ball-winner in the centre of midfield, he is also a leader who will provide inspiration and a bit of much needed anger to our midfield.

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De Rossi is capable of chipping in with the odd goal, but his main role is to win the ball and disrupt other teams’ rhythm, something sorely lacking against Barcelona.

On a wing and a prayer

In this current United team, creativity is provided by the wingers and the number 10, Wayne Rooney. All that is needed is a ball-winner and leader to control of the centre of midfield in the very biggest games, to win the ball and then simply play it wide or forward to Rooney, the main creative force behind Hernandez. Rooney, Nani, Valencia and Giggs provide the creativity and all that is needed is a ball-winner in the centre of the park to ensure that these players (Rooney especially) receive the ball.

Quite simply, United do not need a creative midfielder as, in the traditional United way, creativity comes from the wingers and forwards. All that is missing from this United team is a leader and ball-winner who will not lie down in a fight and will prevent the side being over-run in central midfield. That man is Daniele De Rossi.

Read more of Josh’s articles at Red Flag Flying High

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The evolution of what we now know as the modern football magazine started with weekly newspapers which had high football content. Then came “Boys Papers” the newspaper with only football content but were aimed at the children’s market featuring short stories on football matters (the forerunners of comics). Finally in the 1950’s we had what a modern reader would recognise as a football magazine.

The first sport based newspaper was the Athletic News established in Manchester in 1875 as a “weekly journal of amateur sport”. In 1886 James A. Catton began to contribute football reports for the newspaper. He initially used the pen name of “Ubique”. Later he took the name “Tityrus”. Catton eventually became the editor of the newspaper and was acknowledged as the most important football writer in Britain. The first season of the Football League began in September, 1888 and James A. Catton responded by publishing The Athletic News on Monday instead of a Saturday. Much to the delight of Catton, Preston North End won the first championship that year without losing a single match and acquired the name the “Invincibles”. In 1891 sales reached 50,000. Two years later he had doubled to 100,000. On the 22nd August 1900 the increasing popularity of football meant they renamed Athletic News to Football Chat, but that only ran till 5 December 1900 (Nos. 26-41).It changed name again to Football Chat and Athletic World and stuck with that name until 1907.

Over the years it continued changing the name:

Athletic World and Football Chat 19 March – 23 April 1907: Nos. 323-328.

Continued as: Football Chat, Cycling and Athletic World-6 August – 31 December 1907. Continued as: Athletic World, Cycling and Football Chat 7 January 1908 – 28 April 1909: Nos. 366-434.)

The Athletic News continued to prosper and by 1919 it had a circulation of 170,000. As one football historian, Tony Mason, put it by the end of the First World War “the Athletic News was the voice of football and the paper of the discerning football enthusiast.”

By the late 1920s Sunday newspapers such as the News of the World and The Sunday People devoted about 25% of its space to sport. Most of this involved reporting on football. The Athletic News tried to compete with this type of coverage but in 1931 it accepted defeat and merged with The Sporting Chronicle.

In 1911 the “Football Players Magazine-Official Journal of the Association Football Players Union” was launched under the editorship of Evelyn Lintott. A very far sighted move with the Football League and Football Association many years away from producing their own publication. There is an argument for this to be classed as the longest running football magazine as it became “Soccer: The Official Journal of the Football Players Union” in 1947 under the revitalising influence of Jimmy Hill. The Union became the Players Football Association under Jimmy Hill’s stewardship and their magazine “Footballers World” launched in 1993 and continues to this day. (Based on my own subjective definitions as it was aimed at their own members rather than a mass readership I will actually award the football magazine longevity award to “World Soccer”.)

All these pre-war periodicals were still missing the crucial element of full colour photography; in 1931 the first newspaper colour photo was printed in a The Times. In 1937 magazine publishers started printing in colour. Odhams launched Woman with high-quality gravure printing, which was Britain’s first full-colour magazine.

The first British Football magazine that fits my criteria of colour, football only content, quality paper and being available at the newsagents was Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly in September 1951. (A special mention should go to the December 25th 1948 issue of “Sport Weekly” as it featured a full colour team picture of England on the front cover.)

CBFM would be the first to feature colour on the front cover every issue. Amazingly with so many major publishing houses around he launched independently as Charles Buchan’s Publications Ltd based at 408 The Strand, London WC2.It continued for 274 issues until the final issue came out in June 1974.

Raich Carter’s Soccer Star started a year later after CBFM on the 20th September 1952. In the summer of 1955 the Raich Carter logo was dropped and it ran as Soccer Star until 19th June 1970 when it merged into “World Soccer””.

World Soccer was the world’s second oldest monthly football magazine when it started in October 1960 and is today the world’s longest running football magazine as it is still being published by IPC, with a monthly circulation today of around 52,000.

The 1960’s and 70’s were the golden era of high circulations and many famous magazines were launched:

“Jimmy Hill’s Football Weekly” (27th October 1967 – April 24th 1970)

“Goal” ( 16th August 1968 – 1 June 1974)

“Shoot” (16th August 1969-June 2008)

“Striker”  (10th  January 1970  to 4th March 1972)

“Book of Football”(1969)

“Inside Football” from August 15th 1970 until the 26th February 1972

“Scorcher” (Footballs first comic) (10th January 1970 – 3rd July 1971)

“Match” (6 September 1979 –Present)

“When Saturday Comes” (March 1986 – Present)

“90 Minutes (October 1990 -17th of May 1997

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“Four Four Two” (September 1994 – Present)

It’s amazing to look back now on the circulation figures of 250,000 a month back in the early 1960’s achieved by Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly, still more than the current big three of “World Soccer”, “When Saturday Comes” and “442” can muster in total.

Soccerbilia Website (www.soccerbilia.co.uk)

We have thousands of football magazines in stock covering 70 different publications. This includes complete runs of Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly, Soccer Star, Jimmy Hill’s Football Weekly and World Soccer.

Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly. ( www.charlesbuchansfootballmonthly.com)

A complete run of Britain’s first football magazine – with every issue fully catalogued.

Know someone born between 1932 and 2000, who is football mad? Why not buy them the perfect present of a football magazine from the week or the month of their birth?

Aston Villa’s Stewart Downing may be on his way to Anfield, as it has been revealed that his club have accepted a £20 million offer from Liverpool.

The Reds have been chasing the England winger for the bulk of the summer, and having had £12.5 million and £15 million bids rejected, met the Birmingham outfit’s valuation of the former Middlesbrough man, and can now look to wrap up a deal.

“Liverpool FC can tonight announce they have agreed a fee with Aston Villa for the transfer of Stewart Downing. Liverpool have now been granted permission to discuss personal terms with the player and arrange a medical,” a statement on the Merseyside team’s official website read.

Rumours in the press had linked Arsenal with an approach for the 26-year-old, but the player is thought to have his heart set on a switch to Kenny Dalglish’s side. If he does move north, he will join homegrown talents Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson as new additions to the squad.

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Meanwhile, the Daily Mail indicates that Villa will make a £9 million bid for Wigan’s France international Charles N’Zogbia as a potential replacement for the outgoing speedster.

Chelsea are set to make another bid for Luka Modric according to The Sun despite reports of them shying away from a deal.

Reports over the last week indicated that the Blues were preparing to give up on signing the Croatian and turn their attentions to other targets.

However it now seems that they are set to offer Spurs £30 million straight or £27 million plus Yossi Benayoun in an attempt to land the midfielder.

Modric has already stated his desire to leave White Hart Lane this summer to sign for Chelsea as they can offer him Champions League football.

Andre Villas-Boas is desperate to bring some creativity to the his midfield at Stamford Bridge and has chased the 25-year-old all summer.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has so far resisted any attempts to cash in on the clubs prized asset refusing to accept anything below their asking price.

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Manager Harry Redknapp was also unwilling to let Modric leave but is now coming round to the idea of selling him to generate funds to sign players.

Pocketing £30 million for the Croatian, who is unlikely to feature in Thursday’s Europa League game against Hearts, would certainly give him more than enough to secure his top targets.